Big biz media companies are hiring

Representatives from three of the largest employers of business journalists — Bloomberg, Dow Jones and Reuters — said Saturday morning that they are looking to grow by adding more reporters and editors to their staffs.

“Throughout the entire economic downturn, we have been building and growing,” said Karen Toulon, the New York bureau chief for Bloomberg News. “There is some hiring, but it is very focused.”

Dow Jones Newswires recently hired new staff for an investment banking news product, and its India bureau has expanded “considerably,” said Michelle LaRoche, editor for training and recruiting. “We’re going to needed people who have experience in covering specific business topics,” she said.

Toulon and LaRoche, along with Reuters top news editor Walden Siew, were on a panel Saturday morning at the Society of American Business Editors and Writers conference in New York.

Siew noted that Reuters’ staff has grown from 2,400 in 2006 when he was hired to nearly 3,000 today. Part of the hiring came as a result of the launch of Reuters Insider, the company’s new online video product.

All three newsrooms use a test that gauges a candidate’s writing skills and business knowledge. When asked for copies or examples of their tests, all three declined to give specifics.

“This is not freshman year in college,” said LaRoche. “I’m not going to spoon feed you.”

All three said that a candidate’s age makes no difference in the hiring process, refuting a claim made by someone in the audience that newsrooms are looking to hire younger, cheaper journalists.

“You want to hire intelligence,” said Toulon. “I wouldn’t say we look for youth. We look for intelligence.”

Other factors that help a business journalist land a job include the ability to speak another language, multimedia skills and a history of breaking news, said the panelists.