Categories: OLD Media Moves

Lessons learned from Fortune’s Carol Loomis

Josh Brown of The Reformed Broker listed to a recent podcast with legendary business journalist Carol Loomis of Fortune and came away with several lessons.

Here are some of them:

2. Don’t fear the unknown – the Fortune system didn’t involve specific beats for reporters. Stories were assigned and writers were sent out with next to no information in some cases. Loomis credits this system for her ability to learn fast and ask a ton of worthwhile questions.

3. Get the complete picture – One piece of advice Loomis learned from another reporter could be very useful for investors: Don’t stop asking questions until you begin to hear the same thing over and over again. Until then, you probably don’t have all sides of a given story nailed down. Think about the applicability of this idea to the due diligence process investors must go through.

4. Stand up for yourself, no matter what – Carol Loomis had to slap a male reporter who made a pass at her while in the office in the 1960’s (shades of Mad Men-era harrassment). She had to battle the sexist Economic Club of New York to get an invite to an important event that involved a story she was covering. And when that same club came calling to offer her a membership, she turned them down. Self-respect opens doors for you when you put it on display. It takes more courage than “going along to get along”, but it also sends the message that you’re serious and not to be trifled with.

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.

Recent Posts

Business Insider founder Blodget is leaving company

Business Insider founder Henry Blodget sent out the following on Friday: Team, Seventeen years ago,…

48 mins ago

Dow Jones reports slight increases in revenue, earnings

Dow Jones & Co., the parent of The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch.com, Barron's and Investor's…

3 hours ago

The Independent hires Baragona as senior reporter

The Independent has hired Justin Baragona as a senior reporter. He will be covering the intersection of…

5 hours ago

Econ Reporting Hardship Program sets up Ledbetter Fund

Author and editor James Ledbetter was a beloved friend, Economic Hardship Reporting Project Board member…

5 hours ago

FT names Brower US news editor, Edgecliffe-Johnson departing

Financial Times editor in chief Roula Khalaf sent out the following on Friday: Hello everyone I'm pleased…

5 hours ago

WSJ’s Brown is leaving publication

Ken Brown of The Wall Street Journal is leaving the news organization. He is an…

1 day ago