Smith, WSJ reporter who uncovered Enron misdeeds, dies at 68

Rebecca Smith, a Wall Street Journal reporter who used her in-depth knowledge of the utility business to expose Enron’s financial deceit, died on Dec. 15 from complications of an autoimmune disease. She was 68.

Katherine Blunt of The Journal reports, “Smith, who worked at The Wall Street Journal for more than 20 years, was regarded as one of the most knowledgeable journalists covering the electricity industry, a sector that not all news organizations cover closely. She learned parts of the business that many writers would find dull or inscrutable, knowledge that put her ahead in covering some of the biggest stories of her career.

“She was a recipient of four Gerald Loeb Awards honoring the best of business journalism, a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and co-author of ’24 Days,’ a book about the fall of Enron.

“‘She was extremely tough-minded,’ said John R. Emshwiller, a former Journal reporter who wrote ’24 Days’ with Smith. ‘When she became interested in something and sunk her teeth into it, she did not let go.'”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.