Missouri School of Journalism receives Reynolds endowed chair in business journalism

Randy Smith has been named the Donald W. Reynolds Endowed Chair in Business Journalism at the Missouri School of Journalism and will begin at the school Aug. 24.
Smith will work with the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute and
the Society of American Business Editors and Writers chair. He will also aid the college in expanding its business journalism courses for bachelor's, master's and doctoral students.
Smith is a former president of SABEW and has 30 years of journalism, editing and business experience from his time at The Kansas City Star. He is also the vice-chair of Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships.
From the Missouri School press release:

"We can no longer be content to simply cover business. We must be active in inventing the business models of the future," Smith said. "My goal is to put students at the forefront of strengthening the financial fundamentals of journalism. And to do that, you've got to understand business, particularly your own."

View the press release here.

IMAGE CREDIT: journalism.missouri.edu

SABEW to receive $50,000 grant

The Society of American Business Editors and Writers has reached its goal of raising $50,000 to have it matched by a grant from the Challenge Fund for Journalism’s consortium of four national foundations (the Ford Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the McCormick Foundation and the Ethics & Excellence in Journalism Foundation).
SABEW President Greg McCune said he expects the total drive to total over $60,000 when all donations are counted.
Approximately 317 people contributed to the fundraiser. Ken Baldwin and Paul Steiger were praised by the McCune for their especially generous donations.
The society plans to use the $100,000 to revitalize its technology, allowing it to offer more training and services to members as well as react more quickly to changes in the journalism industry. From the SABEW announcement:

“Our success comes in the wake of last fall’s stock market collapse and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, which combined to usher in one of the toughest fund-raising climates in memory,” McCune said.

Read the announcement here.

IMAGE CREDIT: SABEW Web site: http://sabew.com/news/home.htm

Beth Hunt: American City Business Journals is hiring

Beth Hunt said American City Business Journals is currently hiring for roughly 10 positions in a teleconference today held by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.
Hunt also said that, depending on the economy, American City Business Journals may have up to 100 positions to fill in 2010. The company, based in Charlotte N.C., operates 40 business journals in the United States.
Learn more about the company here.

Stay positive after losing your job

The Society of American Business Editors and Writers is holding a members-only teleconference discussion on how to stay positive after losing your job.
The discussion will cover how to stay positive during your job search, what hiring managers are looking for now, how to update your resume and how to look for jobs beyond the conventional places.
The SABEW event will take place on July 14 at 3pm EST. Colleen Eddy, Kevin Noblet and Beth Hunt will be participating in the discussion with Bill Choyke moderating.
To join SABEW, click here.
For more information, click here.

At least 250 biz journalism jobs lost this year

In a new SABEW post, Chris Roush tallies that at least 250 business journalism jobs have been lost in 2009 so far.

Included in the list of business publications that made staff cuts already this year is Bloomberg, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Chicago Tribune and the San Diego Union-Tribune.
From the article:

"During the first six months of the year, more than 250 business journalists lost their jobs due to media closings, layoffs or newsroom buyouts, according to an analysis of the industry by the Carolina Business News Initiative at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill."

Reuters and SABEW team up for discussion session

It comes as no surprise that our industry is changing.

To help prepare for the needs of the future, Reuters and the Society of American Business Editors and Writers are teaming up to host a discussion with some of the top producers in business journalism.

The dicussion, being held Tuesday, June 30, will include the following panelists: 

Chrystia Freeland, US managing editor, Financial Times
Larry Ingrassia, business editor, The New York Times
Sree Sreenivasan, dean of student affairs & new media professor, Columbia Journalism School
Laurel Touby, founder & CEO, Mediabistro.com

The discussion will be moderated by
Betty Wong, global managing editor, Reuters.

Get full details here.

Benefit for business journalism & SABEW

Paul Steiger (former Wall Street Journal managing editor and ProPublica founder) and Larry Ingrassia (New York Times Business editor) are hosting an event to benefit business journalism and the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW).
The event will raise funds to aid displaced business journalists as well as train business journalists in digital media.
With the money raised, SABEW's plans to remake its job listing site, create a market for freelancers to find work, establish a mentor program for displaced journalists, teletrain journalists on multimedia and business journalism, offer scholarships to attend conferences and training, and revamp its website.
Event Details
Location:
The World Room, The School of Journalism at Columbia University 2950 Broadway; New York, NY.
Time: Thursday, May 28, from 6 to 8 p.m.
RSVP: To sabew[at]missouri.edu by Tuesday, May 26.
Price: The event is free but donations to the SABEW Fund for the Future are requested as SABEW must raise $50,000 by August to qualify for a matching amount from four foundations.