Business journalism and risk communication: two cases in pointIn the words of sociologist Robert K. Merton (1983), researchers’ comprehension of phenomena is often based on the fact that they are sitting “on the shoulders of giants”. Depending on whose shoulder one is sitting on, that comprehension can take on wildly different forms. We, the authors, have opted for Adam Smith and Joseph Schumpeter as our point of reference, as well as other, more contemporary economists who in the last 50 years have begun to explain not only economic processes but also the ways of the world in general with the help of their science. As a result, we have gained an understanding of journalism, different from that of the traditional communication researchers. By basing our analysis on economics instead of the more traditional paradigms, we think we are better equipped to explain at least some of the happenings in journalism today.