2. Small-business profile: proposals
Example 1:
prop-onlinepr-wang
Yage Era Corp. refers to itself as an internet reputation management company or on-line public
relations firm. What they do is delete negative posts or links for their clients. It’s becoming a bigger
business since China began pushing harder on internet censorship. If you search for “professional
post-deleting company”, about 8 million pages are found.
This story will focus on how big the market can be, what legal problems they will face and how they
survive in competition as well as regulations.
Story will be 800 to 1,000 words. No art. Delivery by Feb. 27, 12pm
Example 2:
prop-cat-stray
The Cat Cafe in TST is a unique Hong Kong establishment where customers can relax with a drink or
a meal alongside one of the dozen or so resident cats. Two months ago, the store lost its restaurant
license. To continue operation, they’ve turned their cafe into a cooking school where customers cook
their own food, making the place even quirkier. I will interview the owner, find out why they lost their
license (health permits?) and whether they expect to get it back, and cross-check the license story
with the relevant government authorities.
About 800 words, plus cute pictures of cats. Delivery Feb. 22, 2pm
Thursday, 31 January, 13
3. Small-business profile: proposals
Example 3:
prop-music therapy-li
Music therapy is very popular in many western countries, while it has a relatively short history in Hong
Kong. So far, there have been only 15 registered music therapists in Hong Kong, and very limited
institutes which offer music therapy to the public.
Pang’s Music Therapy Center is one of the biggest institutes of this field in Hong Kong. The center was
established in 1990 by Pang Ga Wah, the first registered music therapist working in Hong Kong. It
offers treatments both to people with special needs and also to normal ones.
The story will focus on the business side of the therapy center, finding out how many people go there
every year and how much the service charges. Then, it may move to a broader scene to discuss the
demand-supply relationship of such therapy in Hong Kong and possible market trends. The main
theme might be that there has still been much market space in the music therapy area, which could be
a promising industry.
Besides the center itself, I may interview a few members of Hong Kong Music Therapy Association as
well.
Estimate length at 800 words, no art
Delivery by Feb. 22, 12:00pm
Post on blog in “Proposal” category
Thursday, 31 January, 13
4. The nut graf
✤ Tells the reader why he or she should care about this story
✤ Why it matters to them, or should matter
✤ The significance of the story
✤ In business journalism, often includes a number or other data point to
illustrate the size – hence importance – of a business or industry or
event
Thursday, 31 January, 13
5. Nut graf: example one
BALTIMORE -- It was another routine transaction in the deadly business of how criminals get their guns.
In March 1998, a stranger paid 21-year-old Tia Branch $200, drove her to the Baltimore Gunsmith store near her
housing project and showed her a $700 semiautomatic pistol he wanted. Outside the store, he gave her the money
for the gun, and she went back in and bought it. As a convicted felon, he was barred by Federal law from buying a
gun.
The sales clerk did not question the young woman, although law-enforcement officials say the clerk should have
known from the couple's behavior that it was an illegal straw purchase. Baltimore Gunsmith has made so many
similar sales, they say, that the store is responsible for selling 20 percent of the guns used in crimes that the
Baltimore police have traced in the last nine years.
Police officers, Federal agents and prosecutors have tried numerous times, using existing gun laws, to shut the
place down since 1991. Despite these efforts, it still remains open.
As Congress debates gun control, the gun industry and its supporters often say that the United States has enough
gun laws already, that what is lacking is enforcement. But a review of cases like the Baltimore Gunsmith and of the
agency charged with enforcing Federal gun laws, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, reveals a much
more complicated situation.
The bureau, an arm of the Treasury Department, was created with limited power, has existed under constant threat
of attack by the National Rifle Association, has been kept short-staffed and has to enforce laws often written to
make prosecutions difficult.
An examination of the bureau also shows a major distinction in its approach to the job. Historically, it has arrested
a sizable number of criminals who use guns in robberies or drug sales, particularly career criminals with three or
more convictions. These are considered safe cases that do not arouse N.R.A. opposition.
Until recently, the bureau has been less aggressive in what is now being ...
Source: “Limits on Power and Zeal Hamper Firearms Agency,” New York Times, 22 July 1999
Thursday, 31 January, 13
6. Nut graf: example two
FORT WORTH, Texas -- If it weren't for the drab green and gray uniforms worn by the clerks, this office would
look much like many in Corporate America.
A hundred women, some listening to Walkmans, clack away on computer keyboards, entering used-vehicle sales
data for CCC Information Services Group Inc., a Chicago insurance-claims processing company. Beyond the
uniforms, however, there's a less obvious difference: no telephones. The convicted felons at work here aren't
allowed to have them.
The data-entry operation at this 90-acre prison enclave called Carswell is a controversial experiment by Federal
Prison Industries, a self-supporting arm of the Justice Department. FPI, which employs about 20,000 prisoners,
makes clothing, furniture and other goods for the federal government. But it believes its future lies in selling
services -- and not just to the government.
FPI is counting on the robust service economy to remedy its biggest headache: The nation's prison population is
growing faster than wardens can find work for it. If FPI can't meet its goal of employing at least 20% of the
eligible federal inmates, there will be more idle prisoners and more potential for turmoil behind bars. To cope with
the influx, FPI hopes to tap the commercial market for such services as coupon sorting, packaging and data
processing.
Its new strategy and the growth of FPI's traditional businesses infuriates an eclectic mix of politicians, unions and
business leaders. They say FPI is stealing jobs from the private sector and is able to compete only because it pays
much less than the minimum wage. Their anger is fueling a campaign to strip FPI of its most valuable asset -- its
right of first refusal on federal contracts for hundreds of goods, ranging from swim trunks to -- ironically -- steel
security doors.
At the center of the storm is Steve Schwalb, 48 years old, FPI's chief operating officer. "What we have here is one
damn complex political issue," says Mr. Schwalb, a 26-year veteran of prison management. "It shouldn't be
personal," he adds. "If I've done something wrong, shame on me."
Source: “Mr. Schwalb is Putting His Inmates to Work for the Private Sector,” The Wall Street Journal, 22 July 1999
Thursday, 31 January, 13
7. WSJ feature model
✤ Lede: Summarizes the main point of the story, sometimes with a
narrative or anecdote
✤ Nut: The “so what”; why we should care about the story
✤ Gut: History (how did we get to this point), Scope (how common is
this topic/trend/event), Relevance (link to other topics/trends/
events), Impact (who gains and who loses)
✤ Kicker: Ties up the story neatly by reinforcing the lede and leaves the
reader something else to think about, often with a quote
Thursday, 31 January, 13
8. Bloomberg’s four-paragraph lead
✤ Theme: What & Why
✤ Authority: Quote from someone that backs up the theme
✤ Details: Additional info & data that “are essential to telling the story”
✤ What’s at Stake: Why people should care
Thursday, 31 January, 13
9. Four-paragraph lead: example
✤ Quebec voters rejected secession by a razor-thin margin, averting the
collapse of the country’s financial markets. (Theme)
✤ “The apocalyptic scenario associated with a ‘yes’ victory has been
avoided,” said David Mather, who helps manage C$6.6 billion at
Elliot & Page Ltd. (Authority)
✤ Canada’s second most-populous province voted 50.6% vs. 49.4%
against seceding... (Details)
✤ The outcome averted a potential domino effect of other provinces
seceding... (What’s at Stake)
Source: The Bloomberg Way: A Guide for Reporters & Editors, 10th Edition
Thursday, 31 January, 13
10. Small-business profile: example
Casey King can sit in his office on South MoPac Boulevard, push a button and, within seconds, establish a video
communications connection with the part of his engineering team that works in India.
The video is in high-definition, and the audio is crystal clear. The cost of the call, which is conducted over an
Internet broadband connection, is next to nothing. The main challenge involved is the time difference. At 10 a.m.
Austin time, it is 9:30 p.m. in Bangalore, but the Indian engineers are used to staying late and talking over
technical issues with managers in Texas.
"Seeing is believing," King said. "Thirty seconds after making a call to India, you see what the value proposition
is."
King is chief technical officer of LifeSize Communications Inc. , which is pushing the envelope for high-definition
video communications equipment. The 5-year-old company has 40 patents pending and about 1,000 customers. It
is part of a shift toward more advanced technology that has given a new lift to the conferencing market, which is
about two decades old. Worldwide sales of conferencing equipment are expected to top the $1 billion mark for the
first time in 2007, with a heady 35 percent growth rate.
"The technology has improved so much," said analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group in San Jose, Calif. "With
a high-definition screen and the right network connection, it feels like you are there, and you don't have the hassles
of traveling, the jet lag problems, the wining and dining with the people you do business with. All that stuff goes
away. Executives still have to travel, but not as much."
"High-definition is a much better experience, and HD is sexy," said analyst Andrew Davis with Wainhouse
Research in Brookline, Mass. "Once you have done an HD video conference, you don't want to go back."
LifeSize, which introduced its first high-definition conferencing systems in 2005, had the early technical lead, but
competitors are rushing to catch up.
Source: “Austin’s LifeSize growing with conferencing market,” Austin American-Statesman, 31 Dec 2007
Thursday, 31 January, 13
11. Small-business profile: example two
TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - The 14 felines-in-residence at Tokyo's Cat Cafe Calico excel at their job of making
customers purr with delight.
"This place isn't on my way from work, but even if I'm pretty tired, I'd still stop by," said 32-year-old system
engineer and a Calico regular Kazunori Hamanaka, as he tried to take a photo of a white and brown Bengal cat
curling up in a box. "Stray cats run away when I try to stroke them. Here, it's great that I can do that," said
Hamanaka, who is unable to keep pets at home. He takes about 200 photos on each visit for his blog.
Calico is one of at least three cafes that have opened up in Tokyo this year where visitors can mingle with cats as
they enjoy a cup of tea.
Takafumi Fukui, the 34-year-old owner and a long-time cat lover, quit his job at a television game company and
started the cafe in March.
"In Tokyo, it's not that easy to have cats," he said, explaining that tight housing regulations often forbid pets.
Visitors to Calico pay 800 yen ($7) an hour or 2,000 yen for three hours in a big room where 14 well-brushed and
shampooed cats hang out. After a thorough handwash, the visitor can play with the cats, read comics or just relax.
The clean, odorless cafe -- Calico has six air fresheners and the litter trays are out of sight -- gets about 70 visitors
a day during the week and 150 a day at weekends.
"I want everyone to forget about their jobs and relax," Fukui said, adding that the majority of visitors to Calico are
working women and children, and about 70 percent overall don't own cats due to allergies or housing regulations.
None of Calico's cats are strays, but the cafe puts up posters for abandoned cats seeking homes. Pet dumping is a
problem in Japan, where about 240,000 cats and 160,000 dogs without owners are gassed each year, government
data showed.
The Calico cats are fortunate to have their admirers.
"It is really soothing," Hamanaka said about his frequent visits. "Even three hours is not enough."
Source: “Cat cafe soothes Tokyo's busy feline lovers,” Reuters, 4 Dec 2007
Thursday, 31 January, 13
12. Small-business profiles: prep
✤ Do your research! Do a search ✤ Make an appointment to ensure
(Google and Factiva) in you have your subject’s
advance on the owner/ undivided attention.
business/industry you plan on
writing about. ✤ Identify yourself as a journalist
and tell the subject where the
✤ Draft some questions in story will be published.
advance, but don’t feel you
have to stick with them. Let the ✤ Interview your subject where
interview flow naturally. they work and observe how
they interact with others.
Thursday, 31 January, 13
13. Questions to ask small businesses
1. How long have you been in business? 11.Who are your main suppliers?
2. How many generations of your family 12.Who are your main competitors?
have been involved? 13.Is there an industry group or union you
3. Will your children take over? belong to?
4. How many employees? 14.What did you do before you started this
5. Is it a good living? business?
6. How has your business changed over 15.If you could do it all over again, what
the past 10 years? would you change?
7. When do you think you’ll retire? 16.What’s the strangest/funniest thing
that’s happened in your business?
8. How have your customers changed?
17.How do you promote your business?
9. Who are your best customers? Worst?
18.How has government regulation (e.g.
10.Have you changed how you manage
min. wage law) affected your business?
the business?
Thursday, 31 January, 13
14. Bloomberg’s key profile elements
✤ Age ✤ Friends (and enemies)
✤ Education ✤ Quote from friend
✤ Work history ✤ Quote from adversary
✤ Biggest accomplishment ✤ Rank among competitors
✤ Hobbies ✤ Defining event or moment
✤ Reasons for success or failure ✤ Idiosyncrasies
Source: The Bloomberg Way: A Guide for Reporters & Editors, 10th Edition
Thursday, 31 January, 13
15. General interview guidelines
✤ Be empathetic. Show your interviewee that you care about what they
have to say.
✤ Ask open-ended questions: especially the “how” and “why”
questions.
✤ Never be afraid of asking questions you think are naïve or dumb.
✤ Always take good notes, even if you record all your interviews.
Thursday, 31 January, 13
16. Other things to remember...
✤ Get proper spelling of names ✤ Capture details: visual,
auditory, olfactory!
✤ Get everyone’s age
✤ Look for colorful anecdotes/
✤ Interview some customers (and quotes that illustrate the theme,
maybe competitors as well) the small business & its owner
(for the gut of the story)
✤ Mention you might like a
follow-up interview ✤ Think about why this business
matters, what makes it
✤ Look for a theme/narrative you different, unique (for the nut)
can build your story around
Thursday, 31 January, 13
