If they get any shares, they’re planning to hold on them for one week, then sell them off on Friday, May 25. If they have any gains from the experiment, they’ll be donated to The Time Is Now To Help, a CNN Heroes Top 10 honoree.

Their disclaimer: “We’re not recommending Facebook as an investment; we’re buying in simply to illustrate how the process works. Anyone considering buying Facebook shares should read through the company’s IPO prospectus, which describes Facebook’s financial condition and its risks. (The short version: The future is mysterious, and Very Bad Things can happen to companies. So don’t, like, bet your college fund on this IPO.) “

The first place they tried was Charles Schwab; “And then, strikeout. The site gives me back this message: ‘Based on the account information we have on file, you are not able to participate in this offering.’”

Read more here.

He will move in late June and continue to cover technology and the Internet. He has been writing about trends in the tech industry, media company news and new innovations from the UK and Europe.

Bradshaw has been with the Financial Times since April 2008. Before that, he was a reporter for Investors Chronicle, covering tech and telecommunications companies and writing news, analysis and features. Before that, he spent nearly three years at Information Age, where he was writing monthly features and analysis on enterprise IT, with particular focus on security, IP communications and software as a service.

Bradshaw also interned at Elle magazine.

He has a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Durham and also studied at City University in London.

]]> http://www.talkingbiznews.com/?feed=rss2&p=32817 0 http://www.talkingbiznews.com/?p=32811 http://www.talkingbiznews.com/?p=32811#comments Thu, 17 May 2012 13:59:24 +0000 Chris Roush http://www.talkingbiznews.com/?p=32811 The Wall Street Journal launched Thursday a blog called  ‘At Work’ that focuses on management and careers.

The blog is aimed toward a professional, working audience, as well as business and law school students. The blog examines how to make sense of the workplace landscape and provides a framework for thinking through career strategies, management tactics, productivity on the job, and how to get ahead in the workplace.

Edited by Francesca Donner and Nikki Waller, At Work is anchored by posts from a variety of management, education and employment reporters from The Wall Street Journal, including: Work & Family columnist Sue Shellenbarger, management and workplace reporter Rachel Silverman, education reporter Melissa Korn, employment and economy reporter Lauren Weber, management and corporate strategy reporter Leslie Kwoh and executive careers reporter Joann Lublin.

Recurring features on the blog include guest essays from named authors and experts on topics such as time management, finding passion, creativity and leadership and CEOs and other top-ranking executives sharing their personal management styles.

The blog also features stories from FINS.com, the careers site from The Journal, as well as staff from the Journal’s Europe and Asia bureaus.

Brennan Peel of the Reporter-News writes, “Content Editor Greg Jaklewicz served as interim editor since February, when former editor Barton Cromeens left the newspaper. Jaklewicz will continue to be content editor.

“Williamson, 61, has more than three decades of experience in the news industry in a host of roles. Most recently, he directed specialty publications at the Reporter-News, including Abilene Biz — a monthly business journal — several weekly newspapers, and the home and real estate sections.

“‘I think by being out of the newsroom it gives a better understanding of how this newspaper works, gives a better sense of what it takes to get it out everyday,’ Williamson said about his newspaper experience, such as marketing and circulation positions, outside writing and photography-based journalism.

“Williamson, who was last in the newsroom eight years ago, also has experience as a managing editor, multimedia editor, business editor and twice served as interim editor for the Reporter-News.”

Read more here.

Lanson writes, “Facebook’s public offering is everywhere — on the web, on the radio, on TV. Does the public really care as much as the press seems to want it to?

“‘Facebook’s initial public offering will be the largest and perhaps the most highly anticipated Internet deal in history,’ wrote CNBC in a piece reprinted in the Christian Science Monitor.

“As I write, a corner of that deal is the lead story on Huffington Post Business and No. 2 on the site’s homepage (‘General Motors Says Facebook Ads Ineffective, Pulls Campaign from the Site…’). It was the subject of a long segment on NPR’s Takeway Tuesday morning. An Associated Press-CNBC poll even asked members of the general public for their views (more than half reportedly believe the company is overvalued) — a poll, by the way, quickly picked up by The Washington Post and Time, among others.

“Don’t AP and CNBC have any better way of spending their money than asking the public what it thinks of an IPO? Isn’t there a lot more important news out there? Does anyone recall that there’s still a war going on in Afghanistan (not to mention Syria)? That student loans have climbed above $1 trillion? That JP Morgan Chase & Co. just squandered $2 billion in bad trades? That the economic foundations of Europe are crumbling? That the United States market is dropping at a steady pace?”

Read more here.

We are delighted to announce that Sharon Terlep will be joining Money & Investing, teaming with Anupreeta Das as our M&A reporting duo. Currently the Journal’s General Motors reporter, Sharon is an excellent storyteller who has distinguished the Journal with scoops and leders about the travails and sometime-triumphs of the U.S. auto industry. She joins an esteemed list of Detroit Journal alums who have and are making their mark on the Journal’s deals team.

Sharon grew up around the Detroit area and received a journalism degree from Michigan State University. After starting her career at the Lansing State Journal covering higher education, she moved to the Detroit News in 2005 to cover health care and, later, GM. Sharon joined the Dow Jones Newswires in 2008 to cover GM and began covering the beat for the Journal’s combined bureau in 2010. Over that time, she’s reported on GM’s bankruptcy and IPO, its restructuring upheaval that saw four CEOs in 18 months and, most recently, the auto maker’s decision to quit paying for ads on Facebook.

M&A is a crucial franchise for our organization and a beat where we have consistently excelled, providing our readers with invaluable scoops and analysis amid fierce competition from all quarters. We look forward to Sharon joining the M&A team, headed by Jamie Heller, this summer.

Sadly, we will also be bidding farewell to Gina Chon, another Detroit alum who in 2010 thought she was dipping into M&I for a one-year hiatus from foreign correspondent work. Instead, she was tapped for the M&A beat and has spent two-plus years dominating the deals world along with her partner-in-crime Preeta. Now, Gina is leaving M&I for new adventures in the Middle East. We will miss her and wish her the very best.

Crewdson has worked in Washington for the past 22 years as an investigative reporter for Bloomberg News and senior correspondent for the Tribune. At Bloomberg, his team’s coverage of the aftermath of the Citizens United ruling won the National Press Foundation’s 2011 Dirksen Award for distinguished reporting on Congress.

His special report in the Tribune on the lack of emergency medical equipment on commercial airliners sparked Congressional hearings and led the FAA to require U.S. airlines to carry portable defibrillators and emergency medical kits as standard equipment. The report was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism.

“John Crewdson’s investigations have shaken the halls of power and, in many cases, righted injustices,” POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian said in a statement. “His work exemplifies POGO’s mission of exposing corruption and exploring solutions.”

In some cases, Crewdson’s work has corrected history. While at the Tribune, he reported on the hundreds of Americans who have falsely claimed to have been awarded the Medal of Honor and debunked the National Institutes of Health’s claim to have discovered the virus that causes AIDS. The latter earned Crewdson the George Polk Award for Medical Reporting.

“For decades, POGO has been widely admired in Washington for its unrelenting determination to delve deeply into the machinery of government, uncover waste, fraud and corruption, and then force Congress and the White House to confront the problems it has exposed,” Crewdson said in a statement. “I look forward to contributing to that essential effort.”

Crewdson graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was awarded a degree in economics with great distinction. He began his career by covering the Watergate scandal for The New York Times, where he broke stories about the Nixon administration’s illegal wiretaps and domestic spying. In 1981, he won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting at the Times for his coverage of illegal aliens and immigration.

CNBC media and entertainment reporter Julia Boorstin is one of the dozens of business journalists covering the biggest business news story of the week — the initial public offering of Facebook.

Boorstin joined CNBC in May 2006 as a general assignment reporter. In December 2006, Boorstin became CNBC’s media and entertainment reporter working from CNBC’s Los Angeles bureau. Boorstin covers media with a special focus on the intersection of media and technology. In addition, Boorstin reported a documentary on the future of television for the network entitled, “Stay Tuned…The Future of TV.”

She previously worked at Fortune magazine, where she was a business writer and reporter since 2000, covering a wide range of stories on everything from media companies to retail to business trends. During that time, she was also a contributor to “Street Life,” a live market wrap-up segment on CNN Headline News.

In addition to its coverage throughout the day, CNBC is running a live special on Thursday, May 17, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. ET titled “Facebook: The Social Offering.” It also has additional coverage on CNBC.com at facebook.cnbc.com.

Boorstin spoke with Talking Biz News by e-mail earlier this week about covering the Facebook IPO. What follows is an edited transcript.

How is covering the Facebook IPO different than other stories?\

It’s unusual to get to cover a company since its inception, and I’ve been following Facebook since soon after it was founded. I remember pitching stories on this social network that was limited to college students and having people ask about the non-existent business model and why they should care. It’s been so much fun to watch the company evolve, build out its advertising model, tackle major issues like privacy concerns, and to see Zuckerberg grow as a CEO.

How do you try to make your coverage stand out?

I try to really get inside Facebook’s strategy — why the company makes the decisions that it does about its products and advertising. When the company rolls out new products like Timeline, or ads on mobile devices, users can get frustrated and complain that the company doesn’t know what it’s doing. I try to figure out the reasons behind its decisions. Facebook has the tough challenge of keeping users happy and growing revenue at the same time. Baked into its business are some inherent challenges — how will it manage privacy concerns if the entire business is based on the importance of sharing? Can it make money from ads on mobile devices without alienating users? I always aim to tell all sides of the story — the challenges and the potential.

How competitive is the story?

It’s pretty competitive — whenever Facebook has an event, like the road show in Palo Alto, there are a half dozen cameras and reporters. But CNBC has the advantage of having been all over the story from the beginning — I was the first person to interview Mark Zuckerberg on TV. I know the personalities and the company inside out – people at Facebook and other sources seem to respect that depth of understanding.

What have been some of the reporting strategies that you have used in covering the IPO?

I try to talk to as many people as possible, and I also try to spend time on Facebook. It’s actually really valuable to attack the privacy issues and the advertising as a consumer — is it easy for me to adjust my privacy settings? Am I annoyed by the new ads?

How important has it been to have sources on Wall Street?

They’re always important, especially for a company like Facebook. It’s crucial to know how this company is perceived not just by consumers, and users of the service, but by bankers and Wall Street investors.

Do you think a reporter covering this story needs to read the S-1 and all of the amendments?

Absolutely — it’s crucial to read each of the S-1 updates — you never know where you’ll find something interesting. I find the filings fascinating. It’s such a treat to get a look inside a company I’ve been covering for so long – to finally see the numbers is a thrill! The filings are all about what users are doing and what Facebook’s risk factors are — the raw documents and numbers are so juicy! Facebook has major concerns about privacy, monetizing its mobile users — it puts them all out there. I’d say it’s not just a must-read for reporters, it’s a must-read for anyone considering investing in the company.

What have you been most proud of in CNBC’s coverage of the story?

I’ve been really proud of how we’ve all worked together, to be ahead of the story, break news, and get inside Facebook in a way that no one else has. Everyone at CNBC has really come together for team coverage — I’m consistently impressed by our open communication. A number of reporters, including Kayla Tausche and Kate Kelly, and a bunch of producers are all pouring their energy into our coverage of this huge story. It’s a thrill to be part of such a great team effort!

Why is this such an important business news story?

Not only is this a simply massive IPO, but Facebook has really changed the way people interact and companies do business. Facebook has encouraged companies to directly communicate with consumers — and (along with Twitter) has empowered consumers to have a voice by posting on companies’ Facebook pages. I think companies realize that they can’t do business without a social presence. It’s also important for investors to understand the risks involved with investing in Facebook — we don’t know how volatile the stock will be. There are many risk factors and investors should weigh them carefully.

How have the reporters at CNBC coordinated the coverage?

We’ve split everything up — my job is to cover everything company related, how the company makes money, what Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg are doing to run the business. My colleagues back on the East Coast cover the details of the IPO and the pricing. We talk on the phone and email back and forth to make sure we’re all on the same page about everything.

Anything else you’d like to say about the story and CNBC’s coverage?

It’s been a lot of fun to cover Facebook and this is just the beginning. Once the company is public I look forward to digging into the numbers every quarter!

Weprin writes, “CNBC has been pushing ‘CNBC Smart’ heavily to media buyers in the last month or so, a buyer at one of the major agencies tells TVNewser. The pitch was that the programming block features shows and personalities that ‘Celebrate the American Dream.’ Indeed, in an advertisement in Ad Age this week (see after the jump), ‘Celebrate the American Dream’ is the tagline used to describe the block. The ad features an American flag motif made of words like ‘Inventors,’ ‘Moguls,’ ‘Mavericks’ and ‘Champions.’ In the past few weeks the network ran a contest where it gave one media buyer a Smart Car, and held a party in midtown’s Aspen Social Club to drum up attention for CNBC Smart.

“For years, CNBC’s primetime served as a place for reruns of shows from CNBC, NBC and elsewhere. In the last few years however, the network found substantial ratings success with its documentary features, which profiled businesses and businessmen, as well as industries that may be established – like television – or not, like marijuana growing.

“It looks like the network is opting to take what it has built with the docs, and expand on it. It’s pitch: the influencers that watch us during the day will tune in at night to get a lighter look at the world of business.”

Read more here.

A story on the paper’s web site states, “Mr. Desloge, who had worked at the St. Louis Business Journal since 1984, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a year ago. He rarely missed a day during his treatment, covering his beats, writing his regular St. Louis Character feature, and doing his twice-daily Business Journal reports on KMOX radio until a month ago.

“What’s more, his office colleagues were amazed at his consistent good cheer. It seems odd to say that someone fighting such a serious illness was chipper, but chipper he often was. He could be heard at his desk talking on the phone with news source after news source, laughing, cajoling and enjoying the moment with someone he had no doubt known for years. And he had sources all over town, so there were a lot of calls to be made.

“He received his journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia    and at the Business Journal reported on law, accounting, banking, advertising and public relations, media, venture capital, transportation, aerospace and defense and a host of other industries. In 2001, he wrote and published ‘Hell on Keels: The Saga of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 12: A Story of Wooden Boats and Iron Men.’”

Read more here.

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