For decades, business journalists have focused their attention on major companies. News organizations are now beginning to recognize the role of entrepreneurs and the value of small business, the leading generator of jobs in the US. economy. Journalists are trying to improve and expand coverage of entrepreneurship and small business at a challenging time. Entrepreneurs are creating new companies at a rapid pace. Financed by bolder venture capitalists, small businesses are also growing faster. To adequately cover these changes, journalists need to understand microeconomics - the activity and behavior of people and organizations in particular markets. In Part One of a two-part backgrounder, Karen Hallows of George Mason University provides fundamentals to help journalists analyze economic issues relating to the information economy, entrepreneurship and small business.