ABSTRACT

John J. Kiernan was a little-known but important transitional figure in business journalism in the nineteenth century, one who operated as business journalism began to form its early identity. Kiernan’s news bureau employed and trained Charles Dow, Edward Jones, and Charles Bergstresser before they launched Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and the Wall Street Journal. Beyond this, Kiernan has been overlooked in the academic literature, even though he provided a leading financial news service after the Civil War. His story is instructive for modern audiences since he operated as a new technology—the telegraph—transformed business journalism. Evidence suggests Kiernan’s foray into New York state politics distracted him from his core business as the market for business news grew dramatically. The evolutionary theory of a firm helps explain the demise of Kiernan’s business as he lacked the organizational capabilities to sustain innovation at a critical juncture in journalism history.

摘要

约翰·基尔南（John J. Kiernan）是十九世纪商业新闻界鲜为人知但重要的过渡人物，一个商业新闻界的人开始形成其早期身份。Kiernan新闻局在创办道琼斯公司和《华尔街日报》之前聘请了查尔斯·道，爱德华·琼斯和查尔斯·伯格里斯特尔并对其进行了培训。。除此之外，尽管基尔南在内战后提供了领先的财经新闻服务，但他在学术文献中却被忽略了。他的故事对现代受众具有启发性，因为他是作为一种新技术（电报）而转型的商业新闻。有证据表明，随着商业新闻市场的急剧增长，基尔南进军纽约州政治使他无法专注于核心业务。公司的进化理论有助于解释Kiernan的业务之死，因为他在新闻历史的紧要关头缺乏维持创新的组织能力。