Wired says all conversations with sources will be assumed on the record

Wired magazine has updated its policy on on-the-record and off-the-record interviews. Its policy now states: Anyone talking to WIRED reporters in any official capacity does so on the record by default. This means that what you say or write can be quoted and attributed to you by name, not just as “a company spokesperson.” We typically allow […]

WSJ reporter Schwartzel on covering Hollywood as a beat

Wall Street Journal reporter Erich Schwartzel was interviewed about how he covers Hollywood. Here is an excerpt: How did the film industry come to be your beat?  I spent about a year talking to the Journal and interviewing in various bureaus—my attitude has always been that pretty much any beat can be fun and fascinating, so I […]

How Insider’s Cosgrove covers the supply chain beat

Insider senior reporter Emma Cosgrove spoke with Phil Rosen about how she covers supply chain stories. Here is an excerpt: What does a day in the life of reporter Emma Cosgrove look like?  I always start my day with news. Logistics is obviously global and there are plenty of stories to read out of China and Europe […]

The biz reporter who finds scandals at business schools

Susan Snyder of The Philadelphia Inquirer profiled business journalist John A. Byrne, whose coverage at Poets & Quants led to the college rankings scandal at Temple University’s business school. Snyder writes, “A native of Paterson, N.J., Byrne worked for several newspapers and magazines, including Forbes, Fast Company, and Businessweek, where he eventually rose to executive editor. Byrne […]

How the Facebook whistleblower vetted a WSJ reporter

Ben Smith of the New York Times writes about how the Facebook whistleblower “auditioned” Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz. Smith writes, “Frances Haugen first met Jeff Horwitz, a tech-industry reporter for The Wall Street Journal, early last December on a hiking trail near the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, Calif. “She liked that he seemed […]

How a WSJ reporter used LinkedIn to connect with the Facebook whistleblower

Brian Stelter of CNN Business writes about how Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz used LinkedIn to earn the trust of a Facebook whistleblower. Stelter writes, “Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz first connected with Frances Haugen, now known as the Facebook whistleblower, late last year. He was trying to meet more sources at Facebook to learn about how […]

How sourcing helps build a business journalism career

Michelle Cheng of Quartz writes about developing a career in business journalism, based on comments made at the financial news site’s sixth webinar about the field. Cheng writes, “Work on sourcing and extracting exclusive information. Know your topic inside and out, and marry that expertise on subject matter to get the right info you need. People […]

Detroit auto reporter LaReau on covering GM

Detroit Free Press auto reporter Jamie LaReau spoke with Frank Witsil at the paper about her job. Here is an excerpt: FREE PRESS: Well, going back to GM, can you talk a little bit about what is the most challenging part of covering a big company like that and how you decide what to cover? LAREAU: There’s a lot of […]

How Insider reporter Taylor broke the Brandy Melville story

Insider fellow Phil Rosen spoke to reporter Kate Taylor about her recent investigation into teen clothing brand Brandy Melville.  Here is an excerpt: Talk about your process for getting sources for this story. How did you go about finding people to trust you? Finding sources and getting them to trust me was a very long, […]

Yahoo Finance’s LaRoche on preparing for interviews

Yahoo Finance’s Julia LaRoche spoke with Polina Pompliano of The Profile on how she prepares for executive interviews. Here is an excerpt: How do you prepare for your interviews? I love the preparation process! For some of my interviews, it’s taken me years to land them. I’m persistent, though. When I decide that I want to talk to someone, […]