Tatge named first Baldwin fellow at South Carolina

Mark W. Tatge, a journalist who has spent more than 30 years working for the nation’s leading business reporting outlets, is the first recipient of the Baldwin Business and Financial Graduate Fellowship for Business Journalists at the University of South Carolina.

The Baldwin fellowship is designed to bring a business journalist to the university’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications to complete a doctoral degree, generate new knowledge on the topic of business journalism, and promote the education of business reporting within the school.

Tatge has reported for The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Dallas Morning News and The Denver Post. He currently serves as the Eugene S. Pulliam Distinguished Professor of Journalism at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind. He also produces seminars and workshops at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., and Donald W. Reynolds Center at Arizona State University.

“I am excited about joining USC as its inaugural Baldwin Fellow,” Tatge said in a statement. “This is a fantastic opportunity to mix scholarship with one of my first loves, business journalism. Business writing has bright prospects given society’s increasing demands for specialized information in the fields of journalism, business, communications and public relations. I applaud the school, its faculty and benefactor Kenneth Baldwin Jr.’s efforts in this regard. Without Mr. Baldwin’s foresight and generosity this program would not be a reality. ”

The fellowship is funded by a $500,000 gift from Kenneth W. Baldwin Jr., a Columbia native and 1949 University of South Carolina alumnus. This is Baldwin’s second large gift to the School of Journalism and Mass Communications. In 2009, he gave a $500,000 gift to establish the Baldwin Business and Financial Journalism Endowment Fund to support teaching, research and other activities.

“We are thrilled that we have found such a qualified business journalist to enter the PhD program as our inaugural Baldwin Fellowship recipient,” said Carol Pardun, director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, in a statement.

Tatge completed a B.A. in Sociology at Western Illinois University, and an M.A. (Journalism) from Ohio State University and an MBA degree from Ohio University.  He was a Kiplinger Fellow in Public Affairs Reporting while completing his master’s degree at Ohio State. Tatge’s research focus for his time at the University of South Carolina will be devoted to understanding the role of news outlets in the presentation, dissemination and propagation of rumors and misinformation concerning financial and business information.

Tatge will start at Carolina in August.