Sitting in on a business journalism class

Jim Offner, the business editor of the Waterloo Courier, writes Sunday about what happened when he sat in on a business reporting class at the University of North Iowa taught by Christopher Martin.

Offner writes, “It’s a major part of their job in the course, after all, to follow events in the business sector with some depth, Martin said.

“‘It’s kind of the only business journalism class we have, so we cover just about everything,’ Martin said. ‘They learn how to read SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission) documents. They look at mergers. One of our projects is looking at mergers five years later. We’re also looking at executive pay and compensation, as well as labor and working-class issues.’

“It’s an upper-level course, and students are heading toward careers in business-related fields — as marketing agents, in the public-relations field and even business reporting — Martin said.

“‘We’ll be looking at some specific places where business intersects with the environment, the green economy and health-care as a business issue,’ Martin said.”

Read more here.