Profits and Losses

Book excerpt: Recognizing the historical importance of business news in journalism, this work asserts that current social attitudes were set in place by 20th-century reporting on finance, business trends, markets, unemployment, governmental economic policy, corporate malfeasance, and the consumer. A comprehensive look at the history of American business news reporting--from its conception to today's online news outlets--topics touched upon include breakthroughs in automobile safety; food and drug regulation; and response to problems of pollution, energy, and global trade that remain critical to debates of the future.