In less than 30 years, business and financial reporting has come a long way. The time and attention paid to business news has grown exponentially. Twenty years ago 25 million Americans owned stock. Today that number has more than doubled to 60 million American stockholders. The number of mutual funds has grown from 800 to well over 8,000, rivaling the number of individual stocks.

Increased ownership brings increased demand for information. At the New York Stock Exchange, CNBC and CNN duke it out for the audience share alongside reporters from around the globe. The print media also are major players in financial news and have profited from its increased popularity. The Wall Street Journal now publishes editions in both Asia and Europe. And witness Bloomberg LP, which already provides a financial news service on radio and television and offers Web access to market information on demand.

The general consensus is that the audience consists of financial and investment professionals but the reality is that the public cares about business, the public cares about the markets, and they especially care when something dramatic happens, such as when their company gets merged or the market moves a few hundred points.

It's an upscale educated audience increasingly broad in its composition. These are listeners engaged in the economy and society. They need to know what is happening in terms of government policy, markets, Geoeconomics and Geopolitics. It's a demanding audience. It includes people of a broader range, people who are interested in foreign affairs and who need to know what's going on around the world.

There is a market for business and finance programming on over the air radio, and it is gradually being proven in major in medium markets alike. Local and area financial information is coupled with news from U.S. and world markets. Networks to service the stations have been developed by Bloomberg, CNN, CNBC and the Wall Street Journal, providing tremendous resources and credibility. WBIS is affiliated with all of these networks on exclusive basis in the Baltimore market.