Welcome to Talking Biz 2

Welcome to Talking Biz 2, a business journalism website that builds on the nationally known Talking Biz News, which operates out of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

This site will provide a forum for discussion and attention to issues and accuracy in business reporting. Readers and contributors will engage in enlightened and informed debate to delve into the coverage of the complex business journalism issues of our times.

The site will examine coverage through a combination of short observational posts, in-depth analysis, interviews and moderated contributions of opinions, examples, background context or other information from readers.

Here are our goals. Talking Biz 2 will:

• Generate robust online conversations among business leaders, reporters, public relations professionals, business journalism students and citizens.
• Increase understanding of business journalism issues by providing a platform for a broad range of voices to be heard.
• Promote accountability and accuracy in the coverage of major business issues.

We have assembled an experienced team of regular writers and commentators, but the site will also take contributions from others. The regular writers will be:

Liz Hester is a former vice president of internal communications at JP Morgan Chase. Before that, Hester was a reporter on the finance team at Bloomberg News, where she covered Wall Street banks and initial public offerings, among other beats. She has a bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University and a master’s degree from Northwestern University. Hester will be the primary writer for Talking Biz 2.

Adam Levy is a principal with 30 Point Strategies, a communications firm with offices in Atlanta and DC. Levy was Atlanta bureau chief for Bloomberg News for 13 years and a senior writer for Bloomberg’s Markets magazine. He co-wrote the book “The People vs. Big Tobacco.” He won numerous regional and national journalism awards including a 2002 Gerald Loeb Award, business journalism’s highest honor. Before his journalism career, Levy was a securities analyst at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette in New York, where he analyzed media, hotel and restaurant companies.

Dean Rotbart is no stranger to dissecting the world of business journalism. A former Wall Street Journal reporter, Rotbart runs NewsBios, which provides biographical and personal information about business journalists to public relations professionals. In addition, he was the founder of TJFR, a newsletter about business journalism that was influential in both journalism and PR circles. Rotbart will write a weekly column.

Kelly Blessing is a senior at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Journalism, where she is studying business journalism. She interned this past summer in New York for Bloomberg News, and she is the recipient of the School’s Van Hecke Award, named after a former business editor of the Charlotte Observer. She is from Annapolis, Md.

Marshele Waddell is a master’s student at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Journalism. She has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations.

I will also contribute regularly to the site, but will primarily act as Talking Biz 2’s editor and direct coverage. Talking Biz News will remain a robust part of our efforts — you will now see its content on the right hand side of the page. But Talking Biz News will stick to job changes and smaller posts, while Talking Biz 2 will tackle meatier issues.

Thanks for reading, and welcome to our new venture. Comments and suggestions are most welcome.