Tag Archives: SABEW
SEC chair Schapiro: Our core mission compromised
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By Sarah Frier
The Securities and Exchange Commission doesn’t have the resources or the support to do its job right, said its chairwoman on Friday.
“I’m concerned about our core mission,” Mary Schapiro told journalists at the Society of American Business News Editors and Writers conference Friday. “We can’t review all corporate filings the way we want to. We also need to be transparent about what we’re not doing, so there’s not a false sense of comfort about what the SEC is doing.”
She said further financial regulation is necessary and inevitable. Journalists can help by debating what regulation should look like and how it will be funded — not whether it should occur.
“Sometimes I read the financial news. and I feel that I have somehow been transported back to 1928,” Schapiro said. “Sometimes the debate seems to ignore decades of financial regulatory history.”
Schapiro, who took her post in January 2009 amid economic uncertainty, said hedge funds, swaps and derivatives transactions need to be more closely watched, and she’s not concerned about getting the rules written.
“What we’re not going to be able to do is operationalize them,” she said. Due to budget cuts, last year the SEC only examined 9 percent of investment advisers. “If you don’t really enforce a rule, do you really have a rule?”
With new rules after a financial crisis that exposed weakness and risk, there’s a lot more work to go around at the SEC, and further cuts — or a shutdown — from Congress would “hobble” their mission, Schapiro said.
She didn’t address the role journalism plays in financial oversight. But she did say their opinions can sometimes matter.
“Every now and then, a journalist raises a point we haven’t considered,” Schapiro said.
Sarah Frier is a UNC-Chapel Hill journalism student who will intern at Bloomberg News this summer. She is also editor of The Daily Tar Heel.
SABEW conference comes to Dallas this week
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Bob Mong, the editor of the Dallas Morning News, writes about the improvements made in business journalism in recent decades as the Society of American Business Editors and Writers comes to his city later this week for its annual conference.
Mong writes, “Coverage of business and financial news was once a journalistic backwater, often a place to send reporters who couldn’t make it anywhere else in the paper.
“What a difference a generation makes. Over the last 30 years, business writing transformed itself into one of the hottest fields in journalism, attracting highly skilled professionals who bring precision and insight to millions of consumers worldwide.
“At the vanguard of this rebirth was the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, the largest professional organization of business journalists, with 3,400 members. The society promotes extensive training programs, ethical decision-making and careers in business journalism.
“I’m proud The Dallas Morning News was one of the first companies to commit to improved business and financial reporting, beginning in 1980. SABEW worked with us hand in hand over the years, offering reinforcement and guidance. Business columnist Cheryl Hall was an early leader of SABEW and served as its president in 1987. Personal finance writer Pamela Yip now sits on SABEW’s board of governors.”
Read more here.
Slow job growth in business journalism
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Just one out of five business news operations plan to add staffers in 2011, while one out of 12 are cutting positions this year, according to an informal survey of business journalists conducted by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.
Of the newsrooms that are hiring, 75 percent plan to add just one position this year. Most of the newsrooms that are hiring are looking for a reporter, while others are looking for section editors, copy editors and a “content generator.”
The findings indicate that the job cuts in business journalism have declined significantly, but that many business news operations are still being careful about adding positions.
One business reporter who has recently looked for a job said that the market is still extremely tight.
“As a semi-frequent and universally unsuccessful applicant for business reporting jobs, I find that news outlets are generally hiring people who left or were laid off from larger, higher paying and more prestigious organizations who are trading down to smaller, lower-paying and less prestigious ones,” said this reporter, who wished to remain anonymous.
“That’s great for the hiring organization, but it means that the career ladder isn’t working very well,” added this reporter. “People aren’t getting the chance to move up.”
Indeed, the survey found that of those planning to hire a business journalist in 2011, nearly half plan to recruit for the position internally, and more than 80 percent said they plan to look externally, but only in their local market. Respondents could choose more than one answer.
Read more here. DISCLOSURE: I conducted the survey for SABEW.
SABEW offering paid trips to pension workshop
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Journalists are invited to learn how to cover the nationally contentious issue of public pensions at an all-expenses-paid, three-day seminar conducted by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in June through a $40,000 grant provided by the McCormick Foundation.
Applications are being received now for up to 20 fellowships that will include airfare, hotel accommodations, meals and seminar fees. Interested journalists should contact Warren Watson, SABEW executive director, at watson@sabew.org or 1-602-496-5186.
Two journalists whose newspapers separately published their work on the issue, Craig Harris of The Arizona Republic and Jason Grotto of the Chicago Tribune, will be among the speakers.
The seminar will begin with an evening program on Wednesday, June 1, continue for a full day Thursday and wrap up in early afternoon on Friday, June 3.
Other invited speakers include Josh Rauh of Northwestern University and Kil Huh of the Pew Center on the States. Both have done research and applied work on the issue. David Milstead of SABEW, a Denver journalist who has developed seminars on public pensions, is helping to formulate the seminar.
Read more here.
Eight business journalists vying for SABEW board
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Eight business journalists are running for spots on the board of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.
The election is being held online for the first time, allowing for SABEW members who don’t attend its annual conference to have a vote.
Running for re-election are Missouri State University professor Mary Jane Pardue, Dow Jones Newswires reporter Dawn Wotapka, Puget Sound Business Journal managing editor Alwyn Scott and Blumsday principal Jonatham Blum.
Also running the board are TheStreet.com editor Glenn Hall, Denver-based financial journalist David Milstead, Bloomberg News stocks editor Joanna Ossinger and CNBC.com managing editor Allen Wastler.
Not running for re-election are Chicago Tribune personal finance columnist Gail MarksJarvis and Fox Business Network managing editor Ray Hennessey.
Meanwhile, freelance journalist Maya Payne Smart is stepping down from the board, and McClatchy national economics correspondent Kevin Hall will become SABEW’s secretary, freeing up two other spots.
Voting lasts through Saturday, April 9, at 5 p.m. The candidate with the lowest vote total will win a one-year seat, the candidate with the second lowest vote total will win a two-year seat, and the remaining six candidates will win three-year seats.
Read more here.
Bloomberg News top winner in SABEW’s Best in Business
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Bloomberg News, with 20 winning entries, garnered the top awards in the Society of American Business Editors and Writers‘ Best in Business Awards, released Friday morning.
GlobalPost was second with 10 awards; The New York Times was third with eight winners. Overall, there were 168 winners across 65 categories, from among 904 entries received.
Here are some of the winners:
General Excellence: Dailies Sunday circulation 25,000 to 200,000
Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, Ariz.)
The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, Mass.)
The Times-Tribune (Scranton, Pa.)
The Detroit News
The Des Moines Register
Hartford (Conn.) Courant
General Excellence: Dailies Sunday circulation 200,000 to 500,000
The Boston Globe
The Seattle Times
The Dallas Morning News
General Excellence: Dailies Sunday circulation 500,000 and above
The New York Times
Los Angeles Times
USA Today
Weeklies/Biweeklies general excellence:
Crain’s New York Business
Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle, Wash.)
Street and Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal
Radio/TV:
CNBC: “Marijuana USA”
CNBC: “Remington Under Fire”
CNBC: “One Nation Overweight”
Real estate coverage:
The Baltimore Sun: Jamie Smith Hopkins coverage
Detroit Free Press: Greta Guest coverage
MarketWatch: Amy Hoak’s “Home Economics”
The awards will be presented Saturday, April 9, at the 48th annual conference in Dallas. The conference runs April 7 to April 9 and features top government officials like SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro and White House Consumer Advocate Elizabeth Warren, and top CEOs from Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Chesapeake Energy, Whole Foods and The Container Store.
See all of the winners here.
Bloomberg News top winner in SABEW's Best in Business
by Chris Roush
Bloomberg News, with 20 winning entries, garnered the top awards in the Society of American Business Editors and Writers‘ Best in Business Awards, released Friday morning.
GlobalPost was second with 10 awards; The New York Times was third with eight winners. Overall, there were 168 winners across 65 categories, from among 904 entries received.
Here are some of the winners:
General Excellence: Dailies Sunday circulation 25,000 to 200,000
Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, Ariz.)
The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, Mass.)
The Times-Tribune (Scranton, Pa.)
The Detroit News
The Des Moines Register
Hartford (Conn.) Courant
General Excellence: Dailies Sunday circulation 200,000 to 500,000
The Boston Globe
The Seattle Times
The Dallas Morning News
General Excellence: Dailies Sunday circulation 500,000 and above
The New York Times
Los Angeles Times
USA Today
Weeklies/Biweeklies general excellence:
Crain’s New York Business
Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle, Wash.)
Street and Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal
Radio/TV:
CNBC: “Marijuana USA”
CNBC: “Remington Under Fire”
CNBC: “One Nation Overweight”
Real estate coverage:
The Baltimore Sun: Jamie Smith Hopkins coverage
Detroit Free Press: Greta Guest coverage
MarketWatch: Amy Hoak’s “Home Economics”
The awards will be presented Saturday, April 9, at the 48th annual conference in Dallas. The conference runs April 7 to April 9 and features top government officials like SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro and White House Consumer Advocate Elizabeth Warren, and top CEOs from Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Chesapeake Energy, Whole Foods and The Container Store.
See all of the winners here.
SABEW given grant to hold public pensions seminar
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The McCormick Foundation awarded the Society of American Business Editors and Writers a $40,000 grant to conduct specialized journalism training on covering the nationally contentious issue of public pensions.
Five other organizations will receive grants to host journalism training on key, timely topics through McCormick’s Specialized Reporting Institute program. McCormick and its administrative agent for this grant initiative, The Poynter Institute, selected the nonprofit groups for grants totaling $250,000.
SABEW’s program, “Covering Public Pensions,” will be held June 1 to June 3 at the Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State Univertsity.
The Cronkite School is home to SABEW, the largest organization of business and economic journalists.
“This roster of SRI hosts will continue to help strengthen the quality and depth of journalism,” said Clark Bell, director, McCormick Foundation’s Journalism Program, in a statement. “By giving these organizations an opportunity to facilitate these workshops and share their knowledge, we hope to arm journalists with an expanded source network, valuable resource materials, and a list of solid story ideas.”
The SABEW program will be geared to the news, said executive director Warren Watson.
Read more here.
SABEW offers scholarships to spring conference
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The Society of American Business Editors and Writers will once again offer financial aid for its biggest annual event – the spring conference, to be held April 7-9 at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
The scholarships total $4,000 and range from $500 to $1,000 each. They will be funded from SABEW’s David Morrow Fund and Benita Newton Fund.
The application process is now open to professional journalists and will close Feb. 25. Winners will be notified by March 3.
There will be four Morrow scholarships in all – two at $1,000 each, and two at $500 each. One $1,000 Newton scholarship will be offered.
Applicants for the Newton award must be a minority. Any professional journalist can apply for a Morrow scholarship. Preference will be given to those working in digital media.
Interested applicants should send a resume and a cover letter to Warren Watson, SABEW executive director, at watson@sabew.org. Materials can also be sent by postal mail. The address is: SABEW, Suite 416, Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ 85004.
Morrow, a SABEW board member and longtime financial journalist who worked for several companies, died in January 2010. Newton was a business reporter at the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va., and died in 2005.
SABEW contest sets entry record
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The Society of American Business Editors and Writers annual Best in Business contest received 897 entries for its 2010 contest, a new record.
The number of entries is 101 more than in 2009, and 55 more than the record set in 2008.
Judging will begin shortly, and the winners will be announced in March. The winners will receive their awards at the SABEW conference in Dallas on April 7 to April 9.
“We took a bit of a risk in reshaping the Best in Business contest this year,” said Beth Hunt, manager of editorial operations for American City Business Journals and chair of the Best in Business committee. “Change can be hard, but we discovered, in no uncertain terms, that our members were ready for a new contest that better fits the times we’re living in.”
The contest this year included, for the first time, a division for international publications and correspondents, a division for radio/broadcast TV/cable media outlets and an expanded division for digital media outlets.
Two open categories to recognize the work of real estate and personal finance journalists and columnists across the country were also added.
