You’re going to get into business journalism

New York Times business journalist Diana Henriques, who recently published a book about convicted investor Bernie Madoff, spoke to a group of journalism students at the University of South Carolina about her work.

Roddie Burris of The State in Columbia, S.C., writes, “She recommended three things journalists need to do to better uncover the scoundrels in their midst.

“First, study the scandals of the past, which can be quite entertaining, she said. Henriques said she began reading about con artists, crooks, and good men gone bad in the business world long before she began writing her book. Henriques said it is also important that journalists avoid being seduced by successful people and “lean into the wind,” especially when the tide of public opinion is all going in one direction.

“Henriques also put in a plug for business journalism.

“‘Business has escaped all its natural boundaries and now governs everything from the movies we watch and the clothes we wear to our cultural institutions and how they raise money, to medical research and how it gets done, to how our welfare benefits are distributed,’ Henriques said.

“‘So, whatever area of journalism you think you’re going to go into, you’re going to go into business journalism.'”