Respected sources like The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Businessweek feature comprehensive national and global business stories, accessible with a few swipes on your smartphone. But if these are the only business publications you’re reading, you’re likely missing out on critical news beneficial to smaller, more niche businesses.
Subscribing to regional business publications can give you a better understanding of the local economy and better understand what’s important to customers in the area. If you find mainstream business news too broad for your needs, try these seven region-specific business publications to give yourself a one-up on the competition.
Los Angeles Business Journal
With a diverse set of large and small businesses calling Los Angeles home, the Los Angeles Business Journal can fulfill your needs for regional and global stories. From local business mergers and acquisitions to Hollywood news, the Los Angeles Business Journal is a must-read for those looking to grow their market in California.
The Business Journals
If your company services many places across the U.S., navigating each city’s business publication could get tedious and expensive. Fortunately, The Business Journals offers its readers access to region-specific stories for over 40 different major cities across the country. Though the journal’s focus is on providing stories from specific cities, they also have an extensive site for national business news.
Crain’s New York Business
With the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal branching out with global and national news, the hunt for news specific to New York on their sites can be demanding. Crain’s New York Business focuses on industries and companies operating in New York.
Whether or not you do business in the Empire State, keeping informed about how companies succeed in such a competitive environment is useful for every business professional.
Texas Economic Development Corporation
With Apple and SpaceX both investing in office space throughout Texas, it’s no secret that corporations are attracted to the inexpensive land and diverse population the state has to offer. Though business publications based in Texas’s three largest cities are certainly worth the read, a large portion of the population is living outside these metropolitan areas.
Therefore, you may be best off reading a publication that encompasses the Lone Star state as a whole. In addition to providing articles about Texas-based businesses and industries, the Texas Economic Development Corporation also provides resources to those interested in starting or expanding in the state.
Toronto Business Journal
True, Canada has just a tenth of the U.S. population. But it’s foolish to overlook Canada’s major metropolitan areas. With 2.93 million residents, Toronto is larger than all but two of America’s cities. The Toronto Business Journal provides insight into Canadian business that you won’t find in U.S.-focused publications. If your company wants to branch out internationally, our closest neighbor to the north may be a great place to start.
SFGate
While you won’t find just business news on San Francisco’s SFGate, the online news publication does have a dedicated section for it. If you don’t mind stories from outside the area sprinkled into your feed, SFGate could be the publication for you. If you get national news elsewhere, then The Business Journals’ San Francisco page will be more up your alley for region-specific articles.
Chicago Tribune
Unlike The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune’s front page still revolves around Chicago itself. Navigating over to the business section will keep you in the loop about companies and industries based in The Great Lakes surrounding area. You can also check out the Chicago Sun-Times, which has a notable regional business section.
Know a great regional business publication not in our list? Let us know in the comments section below.