ICFJ to offer personal finance reporting course

The International Center for Journalists is now offering two online courses in English and Spanish on covering personal finance for Hispanic journalists and U.S. journalists covering finance issues for minority and immigrant communities. The courses are scheduled to start on April 16 and end on July 28.

The courses are open to Spanish-speaking and English-speaking journalists from ethnic media. Participants will be trained to effectively cover consumer finance issues including topics ranging from credit and lending, housing and mortgages to retirement planning and investing.

The Spanish course will be led by Xavier Serbia, the editor-in-chief and founder of Xavierserbia.com. Serbia is a personal finance syndicated columnist and has written for various Hispanic media outlets.

The English course will be led by Chris Roush, who teaches business and economics reporting at the University of North Carolina and has written six books, including two about business journalism.

The courses are divided into three parts:

1. a six-week online training in personal financial journalism
2. a six-week online mentoring period, during which participants will produce stories to publish them in the media
3. a three-day field trip to New York City, where six selected participants will have the opportunity to interview with notable financial experts

At the end of the online courses, three participants will receive a McGraw-Hill Personal Finance Award and cash prizes of US$2,000, US$1,000 and US$500.

For inquires contact Natasha Tynes at ntynes@icfj.org or Mónica Bentivegna at mbentivegna@icfj.org.

To apply for the course please follow the instructions below:

1. Visit https://e-learn.icfj.org.
2. Click on the application link in the language that you prefer (English or Spanish).
3. Login using your e-learn account. If you don’t have an account, click “Create new account” to register. After you register, you will need to check your email to confirm your account.