Some newspaper standalone business sections fade

Already doing a disservice to readers in condensing or dumping stock market and mutual fund listings, some daily newspaper publishers and editors now are eliminating standalone business sections altogether.

That’s a sure way to see already-ebbing circulation dwindle even more, visions Grumpy Editor.

Latest to join the more than half dozen newspapers that have jettisoned standalone business sections is the Denver Post, reports Chris Roush in his Talking Biz News blog.  Post business items, starting yesterday, are inserted in news sections Monday through Friday, he points out, adding that a full-color standalone business section will continue on Sunday. (The paper does not publish on Saturday.)

Other papers that have cut their standalone business sections are the Cincinnati (Ohio) Enquirer, Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal, Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal, Monterey (Calif.) Herald, Akron (Ohio) Beacon-Journal and Orange County (Calif.) Register, tallies Roush, a veteran on the reporting side, who teaches “Newswriting,” “Business Reporting,” “Economics Reporting” and “Business and the Media” at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

With the trend toward scattering business news bits in other sections, readers will have to hunt for latest developments in areas that contain city council coverage, obituaries, crossword puzzles and weather.

Will standalone sports sections be next?

Imagine the uproar from readers if sports material --- including football, baseball and hockey scores --- is found alongside bank robbery and lost cat stories on the bottom of page A13.