Abstract
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.
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