SMU seeks chair in business journalism
Dallas-based Southern Methodist University has posted on its web site that it is now seeking applications for the William O’Neil Chair in Business Journalism. The ad reads in part: “The Division of Journalism invites nominations and applications for an opportunity in the development of an innovative interdisciplinary program in business journalism. A background in business […]
Economics reporters struggle to reach non-economists with coverage
At a recent panel of economics reporters at Dartmouth College, a number of the top journalists in the profession expressed how difficult it was to reach the average consumer with their stories. Among those on the panel were CNBC’s Steve Liesman, The Wall Street Journal’s Greg Ip, and BusinessWeek’s Peter Coy. (Disclosure: I worked with […]
Business journalism takes off with technology
Gregory Millman, writing in the 75th anniversary issue of Financial Executive magazine, notes that the history of business journalism has been impacted the most by technology. Millman wrote, “Computers replaced lead type; color presses created whole new palettes. Television evolved from a small, gray box to high-definition and plasma. Correspondents, many hired less for their […]
SPJ president urges biz journalists to stop relying on inside-baseball stories
Christine Tatum, an assistant business editor at the Denver Post, became president of the Society of Professional Journalists in August, becoming one of only a handful of leaders in the organization’s history who focused on business reporting. Tatum, 35, was a reporter for the Greensboro News & Record in North Carolina and for the Arlington […]
Why press leaks are necessary
Marketwatch editor David Callaway wrote a column published Thursday about why leaks to the business press are so important. He cites as example No. 1 the growing scandal with Hewlett-Packard. Callaway wrote, “Huge amounts of money and resources are spent each year teaching executives how to go on CNBC and get maximum exposure while not […]
How a college student became interested in biz journalism
Joseph M. de Leon is a former college student from San Antonio who now writes business stories for the Frederick News-Post. It’s a beat that he never thought he’d be interested in. In the Ranger, the publication of San Antonio College and Alamo Community College, de Leon writes about his transformation from college student to […]
Details of new Reynolds Center initiatives announced
New nationwide initiatives to improve and encourage the quality of business journalism training at the university level were announced Wednesday by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism at Arizona State University. They include business journalism student internships and a weeklong training seminar for prospective professors in the field. Named as initial host […]
Greenberg on how to protect phone records
Marketwatch columnist Herb Greenberg has written on his blog about how business journalists can prevent their phone records from being hacked into in the wake of the disclosure by Hewlett-Packard that it investigated its board members to find out who was leaking information to reporters. Greenberg stated, “Here’s how I now protect myself so it […]
Writing workshop before SABEW conference
Turn Your Business Story Idea Into Reality! Get one-on-one coaching from financial experts and top business editors. MORNING: One-on-one help researching your story idea and analyzing financial information to give your story depth from experts provided by CFA Institute (Chartered Financial Analysts). LUNCH: Writing tips from Susan Rasky, professor of Journalism at University of California, […]
Maven slams lax coverage of GDP numbers
Marek Fuchs of TheStreet.com slammed recent coverage of the gross domestic product data, noting that most of the stories lacked context. Fuchs wrote, “I’m speaking about the way GDP numbers are reported as if they’re carved in stone, when we all know they are often revised. It happened again this week — and hell hath […]
