Tag Archives: SABEW
SABEW to hold investigative reporting workshops in OKC, Toronto
by Chris Roush
Learn what it takes to produce a successful investigative endeavor from start to finish from several top performers in this field in the Drilling Deep: Investigative Reporting Workshop Series, Friday, July 13, in Oklahoma City and Thursday, July 19, in Toronto.
The workshops are free and provided by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.
These important seminars, to be held at The Daily Oklahoman in Oklahoma City, and at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, are sponsored by SABEW with a grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.
SABEW members are admitted free but must register. Nonmembers pay $35, which includes a year’s membership in SABEW, a $55 value.
Register here for the Oklahoma City or Toronto workshops.
A final program schedule is being determined. Please visit the SABEW website soon for more details on these and two more workshops that are tentatively planned for early fall in two other cities.
SABEW to hold training call for freelancers
by Chris Roush
The Society of American Business Editors and Writers next training call, “Freelancer’s Bootcamp: Real World Tricks and Tips,” will help freelance business journalists improve their work.
This freelancer’s boot camp will cover all aspects entrepreneurial journalism, including setting up an LLC and keeping the books, best practices for time management and pitching stories, and transitioning from the newsroom to full-time freelancing. We’ll also get an editor’s perspective on what works and what doesn’t.
The moderator of the call is Michelle Leder, founder of Footnoted.org, a website that takes a close look at items that companies try to bury in their routine SEC filings. Leder first became interested in SEC filings early in her career, while writing about a small Florida bank that was engaged in aggressive accounting during the last real estate boom.
Also on the call will be Jonathan Blum, the owner of Blumsday, a web-based technology news company. His work regularly appears on TheStreet, Entrepreneur Magazine, and Entrepreneur.com and many other publications and websites.
To sign up for the call, click here.
On the day of the call, dial (218) 339-2626 and, when prompted, enter the access code 4058935 and you’ll be put in to the call. Callers may only listen in to the panelists’ discussion, but may submit questions to sabew@sabew.org that will be sent to the moderator for possible inclusion in the hourlong discussion.
The call will be held 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST, Monday, May 21.
Biz journalists pressured by sources to write stories
by Chris Roush
Business journalists often feel pressured by their sources to write stories that aren’t newsworthy and that could result in financial gain for those sources, according to research completed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Using a survey distributed to Society of American Business Editors and Writers members, honors student Victoria Stilwell found that sources use their status as trusted informants to profit financially from stories journalists write, based on responses to the survey.
Because human sources such as traders, company executives and public relations officials were viewed as the most important source of information, they often hold the upper hand when it comes to dealing with the media. This is underscored by the fact journalists don’t view themselves as an important information supplier to their own sources.
The survey also revealed that many journalists do write stories to stay in good standing with sources they deem critical to the news-making process. These stories were often described as newsworthy pieces that might be published in a blog or brief but were not otherwise prominently featured.
These stories were not only written at the behest of sources but were also requested by publishers and advertising staffs.
Almost 60 percent of stories written at the behest of a source were positive in nature. Furthermore, writing these stories carried out their intended effect — they strengthened the relationship between the journalist and his or her source.
The survey also investigated what role codes of ethics play in source relations. One question asked how frequently respondents consulted their codes. About 43 percent said they rarely to never look at them, while 33 percent said sometimes.
Most journalists attributed this to having ethics codes engrained in them and therefore not needing to frequently look at them.
For more information about this research, please contact Stilwell at toristilwell@gmail.com.
SABEW making diversity push in 2012
by Chris Roush
The Society of American Business Editors and Writers is renewing a push to broaden its diversity efforts in 2012 ahead of its 50th anniversary in Washington and the Unity conference in Las Vegas in August.
The business journalism organization held a committee meeting last week to go over initiatives that include recruiting minority candidates to join SABEW, ensuring that SABEW’s board reflects the diversity of our readership and newsrooms, and raising funds for its Five for 50 campaign for five students of color to attend SABEW conferences for the next five years, starting with its 50th anniversary conference in Washington next year.
The organization also will work with other media companies and other associations to help raise business journalism scholarships exclusively for students and young journalists. SABEW is asking major media companies such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg, Dow Jones and newspapers to respond to these challenges.
“There’s a yawning gap between many companies’ diversity goals, and the reality you see in most newsrooms,” said Walden Siew, a New York-based editor for Reuters and chair of SABEW’s diversity committee. “SABEW too must do a better job to promote a board and membership that reflects our audience and industry.”
Pamela Yip, a personal finance columnist and former chair and current member of SABEW’s diversity committee, also said her newspaper, the Dallas Morning News, offers paid internships every summer. The paper has already picked this summer’s business news intern, but she encouraged interested students to contact her for future positions.
Using social media to find biz stories
by Chris Roush
Everybody’s using social media, but where in the billions of status updates and tweets can a journalist find solid sources and important stories? The Society of American Business Editors and Writers is holding a conference call later this month for business journalists who need help in untangling the social media maze.
Spend an hour listening to “How to Find Sources & Stories on Social Media,” to hear experts with insights and tups. Sign up today for the call, which will be conducted 2 to 3 p.m. Eastern time, Monday, April 23.
Moderator is Eric Carvin, social media editor for the Associated Press. Panelists include Allison Linn, senior business writer, msnbc.com and Jake Batsell, assistant professor, division of journalism and faculty adviser to smudailycampus.com, Southern Methodist University, Dallas. A third panelist will be announced soon.
Please RSVP for the event by registering here. Then, on the day of the event, please call 218-339-2626 and, when prompted, enter the access code 4058935. You’ll be able to hear the panelists but not speak to them. During the call, listeners may send questions via e-mail. Selected questions will be forwarded to the moderator for the panel to answer.
Questions? Contact SABEW board member and training committee co-chair Mary Jane Pardue, associate professor of journalism at Missouri State University, by email or 417-766-3901.]
SABEW receives grant for investigative reporting training
by Chris Roush
The Society of American Business Editors and Writers has been awarded a $25,000 grant to provide training in investigative business reporting.
The Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, based in Oklahoma City, announced the award as part of $1.5 million in grants to 19 journalism organizations nationwide.
The grant will help SABEW conduct a series of four regional workshops – in the East, Midwest, South and West – focusing on skills for business and financial journalists.
Founded by Edith Kinney Gaylord, Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation’s mission is to invest in the future of journalism by building the ethics, skills and opportunities needed to advance principled, probing news and information.
“EEJF focused a large majority of available funds towards non-profit investigative news organizations this grant cycle,” said Bob Ross, president and CEO of Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation. “These organizations are primarily start-ups with exciting new business models, each filling a void left by traditional news organizations.”
Read more here.
Remembering Dave Morrow
by Chris Roush
Josh Dawsey, a senior at the University of South Carolina, was the inaugural recipient of the David Morrow Scholarship for Business Journalism, named after the former editor in chief of TheStreet.com. He received the award earlier this month at the Society of American Business Editors and Writers‘ annual conference in Indianapolis
Dawsey writes about Morrow, noting, “Dave Morrow had asked Donald Trump the serious financial questions and had one lingering query.
“Morrow — a former editor of TheStreet.com and an alumnus of the University of South Carolina — wanted to know if Trump’s famous matted hair was real. The real estate mogul said yes and jokingly prodded Morrow to test it himself, so Morrow grabbed a lock and dutifully noted the hair as genuine.
“Morrow’s encounter with Donald Trump was among dozens of anecdotes regaled by his former colleagues during the Society of Business Editors and Writers annual conference in Indianapolis March 15-18.
“Morrow was a renowned business journalist who died in 2010 after a bout with cancer. He was only 49 but had created an enviable resume, writing for Fortune Magazine and The New York Times, among others. Morrow served on SABEW’s board and counted many of the organization’s members as close friends.”
Read more here.
Business journalism job market may be improving
by Chris Roush
Nearly one out of every four business news operations plan to add staffers this year, up from one out of every five in 2011, according to an informal survey of business journalists conducted by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.
In addition, the percentage of business news operations planning to cut staff in 2012 fell to 5.3 percent from slightly more than 8 percent last year.
Of the newsrooms that are hiring, 44 percent plan to add one position, while another 29.6 percent plan to add two positions. Most of the newsrooms that are hiring are looking for a reporter, while others are looking for section and department editors.
In addition, when asked about job prospects for next year, 2013, 17.3 percent said they plan to hire a business reporter, up from 8.9 percent who said they would do so a year ago.
The findings indicate that job prospects in business journalism are improving.
“While many parts of our industry still face significant challenges, it’s gratifying to see some evidence that the job market may be improving – if only slightly,” said Jill Jorden Spitz, assistant managing editor for business at the Arizona Daily Star and SABEW president. “After the deep cuts of years past, plans to replace business journalists as they leave or even to add a new position is reason to celebrate.”
The survey found that of those planning to hire a business journalist in 2012, 44.7 percent plan to recruit for the position, and nearly 80 percent said they plan to look externally, but only in their local market. More than half said they would look externally outside their market as well. Respondents could choose more than one answer.
The survey, which received 95 responses in February and in March, is the part of SABEW’s program of quantifying what’s happening in the business journalism job market. SABEW, which has its headquarters at Arizona State University, conducted the same survey in 2011 at this time.
Business news operations that have recently advertised openings include the business desk of The Columbian in Vancouver, Wash., Canadian Business magazine, InvestorPlace.com, CNNMoney.com and the business desk of the Los Angeles Times.
Read more here.
Expose scandals by exploring public records
by Chris Roush
By Tarini Parti
Indiana reporters John Russell and Greg Andrews were both able to expose major scandals in the public and private sectors largely because of the information they learned from digging through public records.
Russell, a reporter at the Indianapolis Star, said he made 23 records requests and read hundreds of emails to write a series of stories that ended up in high-profile resignations and reassignments of state officials.
Andrews, managing editor of Indianapolis Business Journal, exposed how a top Indiana businessman was using an Ohio-based company as his “personal bank,” leading to an FBI investigation and federal charges.
They were joined on the panel by Los Angeles Times reporter Ken Bensinger, a last-minute addition to the panel Saturday at the Society of American Business Editors and Writers‘ conference in Indianapolis, to give business journalists at the conference the following tips on how to use public records:
- Know what you’re looking for and don’t be afraid to ask for it.
- It can be useful to request an agency for names of people who are also requesting the same information, so you know who is also chasing the story.
- Using resources such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s website, National Credit Union Administration website and franchise registrations for covering private companies.
- Digging into already available documents. “Sometimes the smoking gun is there, and you just can’t see it,” Bensinger said.
- Using a database to keep data organize and to look for trends.
- Do enough research to make sure there is no other data that challenges yours.
- Don’t pitch the story to editors until it is “baked.”
- Request documents smartly because you’ll probably get the best ones first — before the agency catches on to what you’re up to.
Parti is a UNC-Chapel Hill journalism student attending the SABEW conference.
Biz journalism needs more journalists of color
by Chris Roush
Christopher Nelson, a freelance journalist and graduate student at the Georgetown University Law Center, writes on the National Association of Black Journalists website about the lack of journalists of color he encountered when he attended the Society of American Business Editors and Writers conference last month.
“As an African-American journalist, I decided to look at this in terms of the state of the black business journalist. From personal experience, I know members of the National Association of Black Journalists who cover business news, including: Kortney Stringer, retail editor, the Associated Press; Michelle Singletary, Personal Finance Columnist, the Washington Post; Alfred Edmond Jr., Editor at Large, Black Enterprise magazine; Sharon Epperson, senior commodities correspondent and personal finance correspondent, CNBC; and Valerie Coleman Morris veteran business news anchor, just to name a few.
“Yet, I wondered why there aren’t more faces that reflect America’s growing diversity? ‘The thing about blacks and business journalism is we need to be there,’ said Shartia Brantley, a segment producer for CNBC’s ‘Street Signs.’
“Back in late 2008 media columnist Richard Prince used his column to explore whether the state of the economy would make business reporting more attractive for journalists of color.”
Read more here.