Biz journalism program created in China

The International Center for Journalists and Tsinghua University in Beijing will launch China’s first Global Business Journalism Program in September 2007. The initiative includes a two-year master’s degree program and workshops for professional journalists from around the country.

The program will train students how to cover the fast-changing world of global business, economics and finance at one of the country’s most prestigious universities. The goal is to create a cadre of top-notch business reporters and editors, who can produce clear, balanced and insightful coverage of Chinese and global companies. This will help make China’s markets more transparent and foster greater understanding between China and the international business community.

“China’s importance in the global economy is growing exponentially, and journalists must gain the skills they need to cover the increasingly complex business landscape,” said International Center for Journalists President Joyce Barnathan, who previously reported from China and supervised Asia coverage for BusinessWeek magazine. “This program will bring together the journalism training expertise of our organization, the prestige of Tsinghua University, and the commitment to the highest ideals of business and journalism embodied by the program’s funders.”

The international founding sponsors of this groundbreaking project are Merrill Lynch, the Knight Foundation and Bloomberg News.

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