Posted By Becky Bisbee

Created for SABEW by Greg McCune, Reuters, March 2008

Too often, reporters write economic stories in ways that are boring, dense, remote from the average reader’s concerns and laden with economic-speak. Here are 10 tips for writing better economics stories:

1. Get Organized. Bookmark a calendar of U.S. economic indicators, such as www.nber.org/releases/ and plan ahead. Find “consensus” surveys of Wall Street analysts to put the numbers in context.
2. Avoid Numbers Soup. Try to write a lead without the raw numbers. If the CPI is the highest in eight months, say that, rather than “rose 0.4 percent excluding food and energy.” Or lead with the reason for the change: “Rising imports of more expensive oil drove the U.S. trade deficit higher.”
3. Get People in the Story. For an unemployment story, talk to someone at a job center. For inflation, talk to someone at the gas pump. For trade, talk to a local company that imports or exports. Many so-called “experts” are in New York; you may learn more by paying attention to activity in your area.
4. Focus on the 5 Most Important Reports.
   • Employment report- U.S. Department of Labor (www.bls.gov), the first Friday of each month. The information is fresh (data only a week old), deep (numbers on jobs, inflation, productivity), and relevant to people on the street (jobs). The seasonally adjusted numbers smooth out such factors as people’s tendency to shop more in November and December.
   • Inflation- U.S. Department of Labor, monthly (www.bls.gov). The Consumer Price Index measures the change in prices of a basket of goods and is the most popular gauge of the rate of inflation. Excluding volatile food and energy prices provides a “core” or “baseline” CPI.
   • Economic growth – The U.S. Commerce Department releases Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimates once a quarter (www.economicindicators.gov). The first estimate, one month after the end of the quarter, is the freshest but the least accurate. A second estimate comes a month later, and the final estimate after the third month. The report measures the value of everything produced within the borders of the United States.
   • Consumer outlook – The U.S. economy is consumer-driven, so the mood of the public is crucial. Two monthly surveys worth tracking are the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, released the last Tuesday of the month (www.conference-board.org), and the University of Michigan Survey of Consumer Sentiment with preliminary figures on the second Friday of each month and final figures on the last Friday of the same month (www.sca.isr.umich.edu/main/php).
   • Trade – The monthly trade report from the Commerce Department provides a wealth of detail on trade with individual countries and certain sensitive sectors (e.g., autos, energy, agriculture). The U.S. runs a chronic trade deficit, which means it imports more goods than it exports and has to pay for the imports with dollars flowing out of this country.
5. Localize. A great way to get readers’ attention is to localize economic indicators. Regional, state and metropolitan figures are available for some important indicators, including unemployment, CPI, consumer sentiment and retail sales. For details see Tip for Better Economics Stories II.
6. Hot Topics. Look for the hook within economic reports, such as the rise in energy prices within the CPI or the rise in jobless claims after a major hurricane.
7. History Matters. Give readers enough background to put numbers in context. Economists call the ebb and flow of the economy over several years the “business cycle,” and tell your reader where we are in the business cycle – or where experts think we.