The Concordia Free Enterprise Center, Economics Wisconsin, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago invite you to attend the Economics for Opinion Leaders: Journalists & Media Professionals program being held Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2025 in Detroit.
All members of the media are encouraged to apply for this award-winning educational seminar. There will be an opening reception on Monday evening at the Detroit Athletic Club featuring special guest, Chris Roush, author of “The Future of Business Journalism: Why it Matters for Wall Street and Main Street.” Overnight accommodations will be provided at the Hilton Garden Inn Detroit Downtown followed by 1.5 days of instruction at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Detroit branch.
This program is open to all Midwest journalists including TV, radio, print and digital media. Attendees from outlets such as Crain’s, The Chicago Tribune, WTTW, Thomson Reuters, Biz Times Media, and many more have attended in the past and found the program a worthwhile investment of their time.
Included in the $25 registration fee are seminar materials and book, hotel accommodations, and meals during the event. In addition, a $200 travel stipend and a $25 registration refund will be offered upon completion of the program. Early application is encouraged, as the program has filled in previous years.* Application fee will be refunded whether or not you’ve been accepted into the program.
This seminar is designed to provide busy journalists with a breadth of college-level economics content in a fast-paced two-day format. Many important issues – inflation, interest rates, the environment, unemployment – have implications for the public. The instruction will equip journalists with the tools needed to decipher today’s economy and become more adept at analyzing the policies put forward by politicians and advocacy groups, as well as the public’s response to these policies. The partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago allows us to reach media professionals across the Seventh District while offering valuable insight to journalists from within the banking system.
This seminar will:
- Be presented by a team of experienced economic educators focused on teaching basic economic principles and how they may relate to journalists and other media professionals.
- Provide real-life examples via presentations, simulations, videos and interactive discussions.
- Explain common economic terms and highlight practical applications of the “economic way of thinking.”
- Help journalists better understand the economics of the stories they are covering and how those stories may impact their readers, viewers and listeners.
Topics covered include:
- Economic way of thinking
- Market prices and labor markets
- Institutions of a market economy
- Numbers in the newsroom: GDP, CPI, and the unemployment rate
- Monetary policy and the Federal Reserve system
- Marginal analysis
- Behavioral economics
- International trade and the global economic scene
- And much more
More detailed information about our organizations and this program may be found at the Registration page for this event. Important note: Federal Reserve requirements related to security will be communicated with you after registration.
If you have questions about the program or the registration process, please contact Julie Glaunert at julie@ewwcee.org
We hope that you can benefit from this valuable professional development opportunity. Please forward this information to colleagues who may be interested in attending, as well, and feel free to share via relevant social media outlets, etc.
