Full Description
The ultimate guide to financial reporting, from the Editor-in-Chief of Bloomberg News
The Bloomberg Way: A Guide for Reporters and Editors is the ultimate handbook for business and financial reporting. A compilation of more than two decades worth of wisdom and experience from one of the world's largest news organizations, the book contains the information and guidance reporters, editors, and students need to be first, fastest, and factual. Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief Matthew Winkler guides readers through the entire reporting process, relating best practices and warning against common mistakes.
More than ever before, accurate reporting is crucial, as increasing numbers of people and institutions are affected by what happens on Wall Street, and information can move global markets. The Bloomberg Way: A Guide for Reporters and Editors details both the preparation and production aspects that produce great news, and provides an inside look at the methods used by an elite financial reporting institution. The book goes well beyond "Journalism 101" to provide guidance specific to business and financial reporting, empowering reporters and editors to develop their own methods within the guidelines of solid, ethical reporting. Topics include:
Style, voice, jargon, and why good writing matters
Stocks, bonds, currencies, and covering markets
Debt, earnings, M&A, and reporting on companies
Government financing, opinion polls, and following the money
The book also provides guidance on taking an idea from pitch to publication, and includes extensive information on public responsibility, libel, transparency, and other ethical issues. Between the 24-hour news cycle and the current economic climate, financial reporters need to break news accurately and informatively. The Thirteenth Edition of The Bloomberg Way: A Guide for Reporters and Editors is the definitive guide to reporting and editing the story of money and finance.
Contents
Introduction xi
Acknowledgments xvii
Chapter 1: The Bloomberg Way 1
Guiding Principles 2
Ethical Standards 3
Chapter 2: The Five Fs 5
Chapter 3: The Four-Paragraph Lead 7
Headlines 12
Leads 13
Size and Scope 18
Reinforcing the Lead 19
Quotations 20
Details 22
Nut Paragraphs 24
To Be Sure 26
Chapter 4: Show, Don't Tell 27
Characterizations 28
Assertions 30
Anecdotes 31
Chapter 5: Writing Well Matters 33
Precision and Brevity 34
Jargon 37
Clichés 38
Word Echoes 38
Tense and Voice 39
Concise Writing 39
Chapter 6: Preparation 41
How to Prepare 41
Source Development 43
Curtain-Raisers 44
Templates 45
Chapter 7: Headlines 47
Improving Headlines 48
Headline Style 49
Grammar and Punctuation 51
Stand-Alone Headlines 52
Story Subheads 53
Avoiding Headline Errors 54
Chapter 8: Covering News 55
Breaking News 56
News Releases 57
Attribution 58
Anonymous Sources 59
Corrections 61
Sending Corrections 63
Rumor and Speculation 64
Media Summaries 65
Story Mechanics 67
Complete Coverage 69
Chapter 9: People 71
Interviewing 72
Obituaries 74
Chapter 10: Enterprise 77
Idea to Story 78
Preparing a Pitch 78
Types of Enterprise 81
Reporting 85
A Model of Reporting 86
Writing the Story 88
Chapter 11: Ethics 91
Working for Bloomberg 92
Covering Bloomberg 93
Fairness 94
Public Responsibilities 95
Endorsements and Paying Our Way 96
Plagiarism 97
Access 97
Transparency 98
Accuracy 100
Contests 100
Conduct 101
Libel 102
Red Flags 103
Avoiding a Libel Claim 104
Chapter 12: How We Work 107
Reporters 108
Interviewing 109
Accuracy 111
Editors 112
Editing Checklist 113
Bloomberg First Word 114
Going Online 115
Chapter 13: The Data Advantage 117
More News-Inspired Functions 120
Functions for Markets 122
Functions for Stocks 123
Functions for Bonds 125
Functions for Currencies 127
Functions for Commodities 127
Functions for Companies 128
Functions for Economies 130
Functions for Government 131
Chapter 14: Five Easy Pieces 133
Chapter 15: Markets 137
How to Cover Markets 138
Four Pillars of Market Reporting 143
Writing Market Leads 145
Keeping Stories Fresh 146
Technical Analysis 147
Markets Enterprise 149
Stocks 151
Themes for Stocks 151
Bonds 152
Government Bonds 153
Themes for Government Bonds 154
Corporate Bonds 155
Themes for Corporate Bonds 156
Swaps 157
Money Markets 158
Currencies 159
Covering Currency Markets 160
Themes for Currencies 161
Commodities 162
Themes for Commodities 164
Chapter 16: Companies 167
Market Perspective 168
Debt 169
Earnings 170
Mergers and Acquisitions 174
Valuation 176
Value Comparisons 178
Financing 180
Initial Public Offerings 181
Bond Sales 183
Repurchases and Dividends 184
Company Exclusives 186
Chapter 17: Economies 189
Covering Economies 190
Economy Enterprise 193
Chapter 18: Government 195
Follow the Money 198
Financing Government 199
Opinion Polls 200
Government Exclusives 202
Chapter 19: Grammar 205
Agreement of Subject and Verb 205
Commas 206
Hyphens 207
Only 207
Which and That 208
Has and Have 209
Who and Whom 211
Chapter 20: Words and Terms 213
