Find critical — and celebratory stories — in business

TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE

A top business journalist suggested Friday that young business reporters should look for stories that celebrate industry as well as those that are critical and also expressed optimism about the future of journalism.

“It’s not something to mourn,” said Carl Lavin, the former managing editor of Forbes.com, who also worked at The New York Times and Philadelphia Inquirer, about the current changes in journalism away from print and toward online. “I see it as a huge opportunity.”

Lavin was the lunch speaker Friday at the “Getting Started in Business News” conference for college students interested in careers in business journalism. The conference is being held at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism and attracted nearly 60 students from 15 different universities.

Lavin is the former deputy managing editor for online and multimedia at the Inquirer. He spent 20 years at the Times, including six years as deputy Washington editor.

While Lavin said that business journalists should play a role in being a watchdog against business and representing investors, he was critical of reporters who only looked for negative stories.

“There are inventive, quirky, interesting people in business who need to be celebrated and covered,” said Lavin. “The point of journalism is to embrace different views.”

Lavin said that a business journalist should due plenty of due diligence when writing about a company or an executive. He also provided suggestions for sources — venture capitalists, accountants and attorneys — in writing about new companies. He recommended that business journalist “follow” companies on LinkedIn to see when employees leave the company.

“You’re on the front line, not just as observers but as participants,” said Lavin to the students.