Delpressaan independent magazine about the history and workings of the business press

An independent magazine about the history and workings of the business press. It is not the former website on this domain, nor the editorial office of the journal Lizing Revyu (Leasing Review) or any other publication; their materials are not reproduced here. Not investment advice.

People and authors

People and authors

A business story of a few paragraphs passes through several pairs of hands: someone finds the story, someone gathers the facts, someone checks the figures, someone is responsible for the headline and publication. In this section we describe the roles at a business publication and how the byline, the masthead and labels show who prepared a piece and on what terms. We do not name or assess specific individuals.

A byline is not decoration but a commitment. It tells the reader who is responsible for every word.

— From the editors

How this section works: we write about roles, not specific people. There are no biographies, interviews or assessments of individual journalists here, only a description of who is responsible for what at a business publication and how this is visible to the reader.

Who makes a business publication

Six roles that a business newsroom can rarely do without.

Section editor

Responsible for a section's beat: finance, industry, retail, technology. Decides which stories to pursue, assigns work and answers for the quality of the section's output.

Reporter

Gathers the facts: reads documents and company filings, talks to sources, attends events. Writes news stories and reports in which the key points are what happened and how we know.

Analyst columnist

Explains what lies behind events: compares periods, sets data side by side, looks for causes. These pieces are already interpretation and should be read as reasoned opinion.

Analysis

Fact-checker

Checks names, dates, figures and quotes before publication. In a business story a single wrong figure can change the meaning entirely, so checking is especially important.

Production editor

Puts together the issue or the feed: oversees headlines, subheadings, deadlines and labels. Makes sure advertising is labelled and not passed off as editorial content.

Graphics editor

Turns columns of figures into charts and diagrams. Good graphics show the period, the units and the data source; without them even an attractive chart can mislead.

How to read the byline, the masthead and “advertisement” labels

  • Check whether the piece is signed: an author's name, “staff”, a news agency or a press office represent different levels of responsibility
  • If a story is based on a news agency report, this is usually stated in the byline or at the start of the piece
  • A publication's masthead (publisher, editorial office, contact details) helps you understand who is behind it
  • Labels such as “advertisement”, “paid content” or “sponsored content” mean the text was paid for or prepared together with a client
  • A column or opinion piece is usually marked separately: it is the author's position, not the publication's
  • If a piece is neither signed nor labelled, treat it with more caution and look for confirmation in other sources
  • Analysis

    How to break down a business article step by step and tell news from analysis and advertising.

  • Events

    Which events the business press covers, how the business calendar works and how to check a news story about an event.

  • Articles

    Magazine topics: business press history, genres, company results and indices in the news, trade journals, archives. Plus the article catalogue.

Sources

  • Encyclopaedic sources on the history of the press

Historical information is based on open official and encyclopaedic sources. Laws and publication policies may change, so always check the current versions in official sources.