Category: Reader Ideas

One Tale of Woe, a Two-Part Series

Posted by: John A. Byrne on October 29

BusinessWeek reader Rom Mattesich posted a story idea on this blog to alert us, and his fellow readers, to an issue that was hindering his family-run business. Rom, a…

Saluting a Veteran Reader

Posted by: John A. Byrne on October 06

BusinessWeek reader Andy Rinehart is a proud U.S. veteran who’s eager to apply his military experience to business. The Operation Iraqi Freedom vet, currently one of two first-year MBA students…

Watching Washington for Our Readers

Posted by: John A. Byrne on October 05

Most of us rely on on our cell phones, with little thought to any potential risks. BusinessWeek technology writer Olga Kharif last year wrote about some consumers’ health fears raised…

A Reader’s Passion for Manufacturing

Posted by: John A. Byrne on September 08

If all Deloitte employees are as passionate about their jobs as Robert Parkins clearly is, then we picked a winner in naming Deloitte our top company to launch a career…

Chattanooga’s Downtown Revival

Posted by: John A. Byrne on August 17

A big thanks to BusinessWeek reader RJ Burns Jr. for asking us to look at what a city can do when the manufacturing core leaves its borders. Burns, a former…

Arming Rural Homes With Internet: A Reader Story

Posted by: John A. Byrne on August 04

Our latest reader story comes as part of a BusinessWeek.com special report on the push to equip America’s under-served areas with broadband access. The Obama administration has set aside…

Not Your Dad’s HR Department

Posted by: John A. Byrne on July 28

Personnel turnover is costly business for companies, which makes the process a big target during a recession. It costs one North Carolina-based restaurant chain $25,000 to hire and train each…

More Reader-Suggested Stories

Posted by: John A. Byrne on July 24

Last month marked the first time two BusinessWeek reporters picked up inspiration from one reader. That was when Marcia McLean inspired small-biz writer Stacy Perman to look at the…

A Slew of Reader-Suggested Stories

Posted by: John A. Byrne on July 14

While I was away in France on vacation, readers from all over the country - and Canada - were inspiring BusinessWeek reporters to pursue important stories we overlooked. Bobdar, a…

From BW’s Debate Room to CNBC Green Room

Posted by: John A. Byrne on July 01

This item was written by BusinessWeek’s user engagement intern, Greg Spielberg. A big congratulations to BusinessWeek reader Alton Drew. This past Monday – June 22 – Drew joined economics professor…

Rebuilding Trust in Corporate America

Posted by: John A. Byrne on June 19

“Trust is integral to every transaction and the foundation for business success. It drives the volume, velocity and value of every business transaction.” BusinessWeek reader Alex Todd, the founder…

MBA Jobs and a Recession

Posted by: John A. Byrne on June 19

BusinessWeek reader T.S. Aditya Raghav is preparing to begin MBA studies at IESE in Spain this fall. Naturally, given the economy, he’s a bit nervous. So he posted a…

A Reader Suggests a Story on Wal-Mart

Posted by: John A. Byrne on June 18

Our latest reader-suggested story looks at Wal-Mart’s entry into the retail-clinic business. BusinessWeek reader David O’Reilly (@IntelliMedBlog on Twitter) recommended we look into how the big-box retailer is revolutionizing…

A First: A Reader Who Has Inspired Not One But Two Stories

Posted by: John A. Byrne on June 11

On our home page today you’ll see a nod to BusinessWeek reader Marcia McLean (left), a high-tech entrepreneur based in Cape Cod, Mass., for suggesting a story idea on…

Graduating With A Diploma and A Mountain of Debt

Posted by: John A. Byrne on May 27

It’s that time of the year again when proud parents and equally proud students don cap and gown to graduate from college. They’re not only facing a very tough…

Thanks for All the Story Ideas—Keep Them Coming

Posted by: John A. Byrne on May 07

Thank you for all the great story ideas submitted in response to my invitation to our readers to join me at Jim Collins’ book launch in New York next week…

A Story Idea For A Chance To See Management Guru Jim Collins

Posted by: John A. Byrne on April 27

It’s now been a full year since we began asking readers to submit ideas for stories you’d like to us to report and write. The response to What’s Your…

The Recession’s Impact on Prices

Posted by: John A. Byrne on March 23

The recession is cutting profit margins thin thanks to bargain prices and unheard of deals. For buyers, it’s a dream; for retailers, a nightmare. But what will happen when…

Shareholder Value: Still A Viable Concept?

Posted by: John A. Byrne on March 18

A few days ago, former General Electric Chairman Jack Welch touched off a new debate over a controversial phrase that has become a key part of the business vocabulary:…

Congressional Portfolios

Posted by: John A. Byrne on March 15

In a timely look at how congressional lawmakers have invested (and lost) their earnings, reporter Greg Spielberg (with an assist from Theo Francis in our Washington bureau) discovered that…

The Malling of Our Economy

Posted by: John A. Byrne on March 09

Empty shopping centers and strip malls are bad for more than just ravenous developers and shopaholics. Municipal, city and state governments rely largely on the sales and property taxes…

An Alternative to eBay

Posted by: John A. Byrne on March 04

Recently, BusinessWeek.com got a visit from a very vocal community of eBay sellers who had grown unhappy with the online marketplace. More than 200 auctioneers, craft makers, antique traders,…

Seeing Opportunity In Today’s Troubled Environment

Posted by: John A. Byrne on February 28

Imagine starting an ad agency in this brutal recession? As Greg Spielberg reports in a reader-suggested story currently on our home page: “Some might say such a venture sounds…

A Reverse Better Business Bureau

Posted by: John A. Byrne on February 22

Sometimes you get incredibly unusual ideas from readers. This is one of them: a story suggested by BusinessWeek.com reader “Cody” via a post on this blog about BusinessBeware.biz, a Web…

A Great Start for Reader-Generated Stories

Posted by: John A. Byrne on February 12

If you visited our home page today you saw a reader’s idea for an article as the top story of the day: Advice for Young Investors—It’s a bewildering time…

Dreams of Baseball

Posted by: John A. Byrne on January 12

Just last week, I ordered my first seats for the new baseball season—for a Yankees/Braves spring training game in Tampa, Fla. Suddenly, despite the snow and ice this weekend,…

The Recession Is Even Hurting Gambling

Posted by: John A. Byrne on December 22

On our homepage today is yet another reader’s idea for a story: “Losing Faith in Gambling’s Allure—With consumers tightening their budgets, gambling both in lotteries and at casinos is…

Tips to Help You Land a New Job

Posted by: John A. Byrne on December 01

With the unemployment rate now at 6.5% and likely to go into double digits during what many predict will be a long and difficult recession, the story suggested by…

The Reader Behind eBay Sellers’ Frustration

Posted by: John A. Byrne on October 21

Today marks the third consecutive day that we’ve published a story suggested by a reader. It’s all part of our ongoing effort to make BusinessWeek.com the business and financial…

The Story Behind Rising Egg Prices

Posted by: John A. Byrne on October 20

For the first time ever, we have two back-to-back lead stories on our home page resulting from suggestions from readers. The idea for today’s top story, “A Legal Scramble…

Who’s To Blame for Our Financial Meltdown?

Posted by: John A. Byrne on October 19

Today’s lead story, “The Financial Crisis Blame Game,” and a complementary slideshow, “The Faces Behind the Crisis,” is the result of a reader suggestion. Joe Lacenere (left), who works…

Why Maple Syrup Has Tripled in Price

Posted by: John A. Byrne on September 29

With all the turbulence and uncertainly roiling our financial markets, the increasing price of maple syrup might appear of little concern to you. On the other hand, soaring food…

A Reader’s Story Idea Becomes a Blog

Posted by: John A. Byrne on August 27

Not all ideas these days need to be carried out in traditional story form. Sometimes, a smartly reported blog post will do just fine. And that’s what our Boston correspondent…

A Peek Inside the Hedge Fund World

Posted by: John A. Byrne on August 06

Today’s home page features yet another story suggestion from a reader. This one, “Even Hedge Funds Are Hurting,” came from Stamatios Kanellakis. A marketing, customer loyalty, and innovation analyst…

A Reader’s Idea & Our Cover Story

Posted by: John A. Byrne on July 26

This week’s cover story—yes, the cover story of our magazine (left)—is an idea that one of our readers gave us earlier this month. Penny wrote on this blog: “I…

One Idea from a Reader. Three stories?

Posted by: John A. Byrne on July 11

A story idea is a living thing. It takes twists and turns as a journalist begins to poke and prod an idea, report it out, and eventually deliver an…

Our Idea Fest

Posted by: John A. Byrne on May 04

The ideas from readers just keep on flowing. Again, I’m taken aback by the volume, the diversity, and the quality of your suggestions. The more than 125 suggested ideas deal…

The Wisdom of Our Crowd

Posted by: John A. Byrne on April 19

What an extraordinary selection of story ideas! I feel as if I walked into a room filled with remarkably thoughtful and creative journalists, all of them pitching compelling articles for…