Dow Jones, Columbia Journalism School launch new initiative to enhance newsroom diversity

The following excerpt was sent out from Dow Jones:

Dow Jones, a global provider of news and business information, and Columbia Journalism School today announced the launch of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Media Collective. This dynamic journalism talent incubator is designed to enhance newsroom diversity and promote financial literacy for participating students. The inaugural cohort includes nine emerging journalists hand-selected by deans or faculty from Dillard University, Howard University, Morehouse College, Morgan State University, Spelman College and Texas Southern University.

From May 19–27, 2023, the HBCU Media Collective program will embed participating students in Dow Jones newsrooms to learn financial reporting skills and gain real-life experience working alongside professional journalists and leaders at The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and MarketWatch in New York. The program also provides on-site education and training with renowned educators at Columbia Journalism School to expand the students’ financial literacy and understanding of how financial journalism intersects with sports, politics and culture.

The program includes newsroom and journalism school training, including breaking news reporting of timely financial topics and how to best incorporate diverse voices and perspectives in the news report.

“The HBCU Media Collective involves rigorous training and hands-on exposure to what an actual day in the life of a financial reporter looks like,” said David Cho, editor in chief of Barron’s. “We’re thrilled to share our expertise with these student journalists and welcome them to our newsroom as part of this dynamic learning experience.”

The HBCU Media Collective is one of many opportunities Dow Jones offers to encourage careers in financial journalism and as part of its commitment to diversity and inclusion. Other Dow Jones Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiatives include:

• Trust Fellows, an internal professional advancement program
• Lehman Journo-Tech Fellows, which incorporates data tools and nontraditional journalists in the news-gathering process
• WSJ Finance Reporting Fellowships, a professional fellowship for early-career journalists; the next application season opens in September 2023
• Morgan State Business Journalism Exchange, an outreach program that expands with an accredited course in investigative journalism Fall semester 2023
• Year-round internship opportunities at Dow Jones publications