Reporting share price movements in general news bulletins on television or radio is pointless and meaningless.

The majority of viewers and listeners don’t give a toss about individual share prices. But they are not the target audience. Actually, it’s hard to figure out who is the target audience.

The information given in a quick bulletin is of little use to those who do care. Nobody in their right mind is going to run out and buy or sell shares if the reporter says “Company X is down two cents at $2.12”.

A share owner will want to check this information before acting. They have apps and other information sources to help them.

Share trading professionals will have immediate access to better and fuller information. Even keen amateur traders will want more than a raw price.

So why do news bulletins broadcast this information?

It could be filler. Some TV bulletins flick up the numbers on the way into or out of commercial breaks. Lord knows New Zealand broadcasters sometimes struggle to fill their long news bulletins with enough worthwhile material.

Reporting share price movements also sends an important signal to audiences that the broadcasters are aware of business news and determined to take it seriously. But that’s it. A form of virtue signalling or marketing, not the dissemination of information.