Local news outlets need a business tab with more coverage on local businesses

I am currently working on my third story as a local business reporter for Ithaca Week. My coverage specifically focuses on the city of Ithaca’s businesses where I utilize mostly Facebook groups such as Visit Ithaca, Downtown Ithaca, Ithaca Events, etc. to find story ideas to pitch.

Although these groups are great for finding new and upcoming events in the Ithaca area, i've noticed that it’s hard to find story ideas on new updates and newsworthy actions these businesses are doing to the community. Oftentimes stories about businesses are not posted frequently or timely.

This made me think… Why am I having to resort to Facebook to dig up a story when local news outlets should be covering businesses on a frequent basis?

I’ve made my long standing argument in previous blog posts about how local businesses need news outlets to help build their exposure for the benefit of not only the business but the community.

According to America’s Newspapers 2023 Local Newspaper Study, “Americans read local news to feel connected to the community and to find places and things to do around town.” Additionally, they argued, “residents are more engaged and involved in the community and local businesses thrive,” when they are exposed in the news.

But how are Americans reading the news to find places and things to do around town going to find this information when it’s almost impossible to find any business news without going on a man-hunt to track them down?

For the average person, they’re not going to want to spend the time digging.

Yes, outlets in the city of Ithaca do report on businesses, but it’s very rare and only include large headline stories. I’ve found that I really have to dig in Ithaca’s news outlets to find stories they’ve written about businesses when there should be a business tab included at the top menu for more accessibility.

Below, I will examine three outlets in two different cities to further develop my argument.

Results:

Ithaca:

The Ithaca Voice: Tabs include government & politics, economy, health, public safety, education, environment, culture. No business tab

Ithaca Voice's tabs at the top of their page

Ithaca.com: Tabs include news, sports, events, entertainment, dining, opinion. No business tab.

Ithaca Journal: Tabs include news, sports, business, data, advertise, obituaries, eNewspaper, Legals. Although there is a business tab, when clicked on, there is one story and the others below it are a mix of national news and no other business news in the Ithaca area.

Buffalo:

WIVB: Tabs include news, weather, sports, community, etc. Under the community tab there are a generous number of local options including contests, things to do in buffalo, festival fridays, events calendar, etc.

WKBW: Tabs include news, weather, sports, 7life, special sections. Under the news tab there are several options including local news, 7 buffalo strong, 7 news, 7 problem solvers, the follow up, believe in Buffalo, etc. Under Believe in Buffalo, there is a wide array of stories about local businesses doing good in the community.

WKBW Believe in Buffalo tab

WGRZ: Tabs include news, weather and sports. Under news, there is local news but no specific tab primarily for local businesses.

What does this mean?

I believe many conclusions can be drawn from examining outlets from a smaller city, such as Ithaca, to a large city like Buffalo. All of Ithaca’s outlets are independent and non-corporate owned, which could be a factor in allocating the resources to have frequent business reporting.

Ithaca Week, however, has a business tab under news that is readily accessible. This proves it can be done.

Buffalo, on the other hand, is a large city with the majority of its outlets corporately owned. The outlet that actually has an accessible tab to find local businesses news was WKBW and the stories under their Believe in Buffalo tab were heartwarming and painted a positive light on the work they do for the community. I believe having this resource only strengthens a community and the businesses being highlighted.

In conclusion, I argue that all local outlets, regardless of their size, should have a featured tab at the top of their page to find business-related news and I believe every local outlet should be pushing out business news much more frequently than now.

This will only strengthen the community, as well as their businesses, as it is one of the many duties of a journalist to push for local business success.

What do you think of all this? Should there be an accessible tab to find business news rather than hunting it down? Should local outlets be pushing more content about local business news? Would you be more invested in supporting locals if you read about them on the news?