Missouri J school receives $3 million for Missouri Business Alert

The University of Missouri School of Journalism has received a $3 million gift from an alumna to support an endowment to provide scholarships, paid internships and professional mentoring for journalism students at Missouri Business Alert, a business journalism publication housed in the School of Journalism.

Randall Smith, founder of the Missouri Business Alert and the Donald W. Reynolds Endowed Chair in Business Journalism, said this gift will give the School of Journalism the tools to provide aspiring business journalists the necessary skills as they prepare to join the workforce.

“The Missouri School of Journalism is positioned to train tomorrow’s business journalists,” Smith said in a statement. “Between two endowed faculty chairs in business journalism, an existing hands-on business newsroom, the extensive use of the Missouri Method and a journalism program hailed as the best in the world, there is no better place for students to prepare for future careers in business news organizations across the globe.”

The Missouri Business Alert reports on entrepreneurial and business news from across Missouri with a daily email newsletter, weekly podcast and other multimedia content. The news outlet also offers internships to MU journalism students majoring in areas such as strategic communication, business development and marketing.

Upon graduation, alumni of the program have worked at various publications, including Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press and The New York Times.