The Reynolds Center has announced its 2009 free workshop schedule.
Select a workshop and register from the drop-down menu below.
The Reynolds Center has opened registration for select 2009 free online seminars.
Topics include:
*Intermediate Business Journalism
*Covering Private Companies
*Business Journalism Boot Camp
*Understanding Financial Statements
By Chris Roush
Tracking the Business Behind the Tomato
By Jonathan Higuera
Five Questions with Bill Choyke
By Jonathan Higuera
Finding the Economy's Silver Lining
By Dick Weiss
Double Whammy: Oil and Housing
By Jennifer Hopfinger
Universities Must Enhance Business Journalism Course Offerings
By Chris Roush
May 22, 2006
As we come to the end of another academic year, I think it's important for those in the world of business journalism to realize why the field is in the state it's in: Blame your local universities and colleges.
You'll need to blame yourself too. Most universities in this country don't offer a course or a major in business journalism, primarily because they haven't heard from their local constituency - the business reporters and editors in the area - that such training is needed. A secondary reason is that few universities have someone on their faculty who can teach such a course.
Because of this, many of the reporters and editors who work on the business desk at a paper have no formal training in how to read a balance sheet and no idea of where to go to find SEC documents for public companies and other public records for private companies.
To be sure, that's changing slowly. The one-day workshops offered by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism help, and there are a handful of colleges who realize the importance of business journalism education. New business journalism programs will begin this fall at SMU and Florida International.
Let's solve this problem. Here's my request: If you are a business reporter or editor, and you'd like to see your local college or university begin offering a course in business reporting, find out who runs the journalism program, and call them up. Offer to teach the course yourself. Explain to the professors the importance of having training in reading and writing about companies and the economy.
In doing so, you'll help the quality of business journalism in the future. Virtually every major metropolitan city has a weekly business newspaper, or its daily newspaper has a business section, and you - the reporters and editors at these papers - can be valuable allies for the school, helping recruit students for internships and jobs.
Worried about going back to the classroom after so many years? It's not that hard. Here's my suggestion: Teach the students what you wish you'd known when you took that first business desk job.
It's what I did six years ago when I started teaching business journalism as an adjunct instructor. You can do the same, and you might get some psychic satisfaction as a result.
Now is the time to act. Most colleges and universities are currently thinking about what courses they'll offer next year and who will teach them. Step in and fill the void.
Copyright © 2008 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism
For the benefit of Chris' readers, I would like to add to what he said and brag about him. At the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Chris is a popular professor who draws students to his business reporting courses because they took his basic news writing course. He has shown that with the right kind of teaching and administrative support, a school can build a top-notch business journalism program. Thirteen of his students are doing business journalism internships this summer, and for the second year in a row, one of his students has won the SABEW student business journalism contest. (Tom Bowers, Interim Dean).
Posted by: Tom Bowers | May 22, 2006 07:12 PM
Dear Chris,
Well, I do agree with your opinions that despite having business newspapers and business section in newspapers and Television station, still there are few colleges and universities to teach business journalism.
You talked about the situation and dilemma of the west, just assume, what would be the difficulty in developing countries especially Nepal.
In Nepal's case, when I joined as a first batch student on Masters degree in journalism and Mass Communication 4 years ago, we had only one state-owned college offering the course of journalism. But over the years, Journalism colleges are mushrooming up here in Nepal offering various courses on Print Journalism, Broadcasting Journalism offering courses on TV and Radio Journalism. We are quite hopeful that growing academic institutions and media houses are doing wonderful job here in Nepal.
Here, we have half a dozen of broadsheet daily newspaper and half a dozen-satellite television channel that cover separate business and economy news daily.
As you said in your article, all the business journalists including me are learning on our own since we lack specific course and training facility in colleges for business journalism here in Nepal. While working, we face many problems, but we are coping with them by self-study and knowledge since there is no way other than this.
Thanks to Internet technology, which has enabled us to study business journalism and by which we log on to various institutions like Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism frequently.
Again I do agree with you that we, the business journalists, must share our working experience and knowledge with them who aspire to be business journalist one day.
Posted by: Himal Neupane | May 28, 2006 07:54 AM