Business journalism: Detangling complex topics and making them simple

Nicole Friedman

Juli Oberlander of The Gateway, the newspaper at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, profiled Wall Street Journal reporter Nicole Friedman and how she got interested in business journalism.

Oberlander writes, “Friedman says she realized economic stories drew her attention.

“‘I really liked the challenge of detangling complex topics and making them simple,’ Friedman says.

“After a stint at the Oregonian newspaper covering local stories, Friedman knew she wanted to pursue financial journalism. In 2013, Friedman moved from Portland, Oregon back to New York to join the commodities team at the Wall Street Journal.

“For three years, Friedman covered energy markets for the Journal, including the oil price collapse that occurred from 2014 to 2016.

“Friedman says she gained knowledge about the topic as she wrote her stories.

“‘The job is just to ask questions,’ Friedman says. ‘You learn everything by calling everyone and asking a million questions about a topic. I’m always trying to talk to people and learn more about what is going on.'”

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.