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Small businesses rate media

New research on coverage of minority-owned and privately-held businesses from the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism at ASU show businesspeople think reporters need to get to know business better. Eighty-eight percent of minority and independent business owners who have been interviewed by the media say the story that resulted was fair and accurate. However, 83 percent of respondents said reporters must improve their understanding of business. These findings are a part of a research project released recently at the 2008 UNITY Convention in Chicago. “Private and minority-owned businesses play important roles in the community, but too often have been overlooked in coverage that focuses on big business,” says Andrew Leckey, director of the Reynolds Center. Most business journalists say they only occasionally cover minority-owned businesses, but not for a lack of reader interest. In fact, eighty-four percent of journalists disagree with the notion that today’s reader has little or no interest in minority-owned businesses. www.businessjournalism.org.