How to kick butt in business journalism

Business Insider executive editor Joe Weisenthal and deputy editor Nicholas Carlson recently gave college students advice on how to be a great business  journalist, reports Dan Reimold of PBS MediaShift.

Here is some of their advice:

8. Test Story Ideas on Twitter

During his portion of the talk, Weisenthal confirmed what his 40,000 Twitter followers already know: While working hard at all hours, he tweets a lot.

Along with sharing news and showing some personality, he said, “a big part of Twitter for me is just trying out ideas. Something will come to me, maybe just the germ of a story that I haven’t written yet, and I’ll tweet some thought and see what kind of reaction I get. So I use it very much as a sounding board … You know, ‘That seemed to strike a nerve, so maybe I’ll expand on that.'”

9. Business Journalism is the Best

One sentiment that struck a nerve for Weisenthal and Carlson centered on the power and benefits of business journalism. Weisenthal in particular didn’t mince words about what he perceives as its predominance. “My opinion is that business journalism is the best,” he said. “Think about it this way. Everyone can write about politics. It’s not that hard … But those people who specialize in writing about politics would never have something smart to say about the jobs report. If you’re thinking about an area, I highly recommend business because it is superior to every other one.”

As Carlson quickly added, “And you get paid well.”

Read more here.