Content Analysis in Business Digital Media Columns: Evidence From Colombia

Abstract

The business world is a voracious consumer of business media content. Research on business columnists has been focused mainly on the effects of columns’ content on stock prices and stock exchange performance indicators. In this study, we delve into the characteristics of business media and their development in terms of the readability and content of business digital media columns from a developing country (Colombia). For this, we conducted a readability and content analysis of a sample of 565 columns from Dinero and Portafolio, two of the most influential business media outlets in Colombia. Our results showed an overrepresentation of male columnists, a lower readability compared with columnists from abroad, and non-significant differences in readability regarding the media outlet and the columnists’ academic degree or gender. We also found that both media outlets have similar patterns in terms of their narratives.