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WSJ460Which Business Outlets Rank Highest Among Business School Deans?

Ever wonder what the deans of leading business schools are reading? Certainly, The Wall Street Journal ranks high. But what about outlets like Bloomberg Businessweek, CNBC, or The Financial Times? And what do these deans look for and value in business coverage?

Last week, Arizona State’s Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism released the results of a study that answered these questions. The survey, which was answered by deans at 60 of the largest business schools in The United States, collected opinions on 17 leading business news operations.

The survey found that Dow Jones ranked highest among deans on business and economic coverage. Asked to rank news organizations on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being lowest and 10 being highest), the respondents gave Dow Jones an aggregate score of 8.48. The Economist trailed closely behind at 8.25, with The Financial Times rounding out the top 3 with a 7.93 score. The lowest performers were Entrepreneur and Fox Business News, with scores of 5.76 and 5.31, respectively.

Here are some additional findings from the study:

  • Dow Jones was ranked as the best source for coverage by 25 deans, while The Economist earned 15 votes. Collectively, Dow Jones and The Economist represented nearly two-thirds of the top choices.
  • Over 70% of deans listed “Insightful explanation of important business and economic topics” as one of the primary reasons why they read their top choice. Other reasons often cited include: “Accuracy in up-to-the-second breaking business news”; “Global understanding”; “Strength of writing or broadcast presentation”; “Intelligence of its experts”; and “Investigative work that indicates depth and comprehension.”
  • Although Dow Jones ranks #1 as the best coverage source, it is not the outlet that deans read or watch most frequently. That honor goes to The Economist, followed by Bloomberg News. Dow Jones placed third.
  • The Economist also tops Dow Jones in its treatment of the economy. Bloomberg Business and Fortune also rank above Dow Jones in its insights into companies and business strategies. However, Dow Jones dominates The Financial Times and Bloomberg Business in its coverage of the financial markets. In each of these rankings, deans chose “Insightful analysis” as the top reason for their preference.
  • Among broadcasters, CNBC nearly doubled the first place votes of the other outlets combined. Here, deans indicated that “Up-to-date response” drove their preference.
  • Finally, deans indicated the following as the biggest weaknesses in business coverage: “Questionable sources quoted rather than valid experts”; “Lack of sophistication”; “Lack of relevance, basically missing the point”; “Bias against business”; and “Inaccuracy.”

Here is a list of the top five on news organizations from the survey:

1) Dow Jones (Including The Wall Street Journal)

2) The Economist

3) The Financial Times

4) Bloomberg News (Including Bloomberg Businessweek)

5) The Harvard Business Review

Here are the bottom five according to business school deans:

13) Inc. Magazine

14) Money Magazine

15) Fast Company

16) Entrepreneur

17) Fox Business News

To get the complete list, along with the numerical values associated with each organization and answer, click below:

Source: Businessjournalism.org

 

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