Last week, the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism hosted 35 award-winning experts from across the nation in two separate, all-expenses-paid seminars in the third annual “Business Journalism Week” at the Cronkite School.
The purpose of “Business Journalism Week” for the past three years has been “to bring together a variety of people, all accomplished and intelligent, with one common goal: improving the quality of business journalism,” said Andrew Leckey, president of the Reynolds Center and business journalism professor.
The “Strictly Financials” seminar brought in 20 business reporters and broadcasters from organizations such as the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg Businessweek and CNNMoney.com.
The “Business Journalism Professors” seminar featured 15 professors from universities all over the world, including Calgary, Canada and Quito, Ecuador.
The programs attempt to bring attention to the field of business journalism and enhance the reputation of the Cronkite School, Leckey said.
The Cronkite School is the headquarters for the Reynolds Center, which was founded in 2003. The center is dedicated to providing free professional training in business journalism to industry experts.
Sharon Bernstein, a former editor and reporter for the Los Angeles Times and one of the 35 participants, said she was impressed by the Cronkite School’s accomplishments, and she feels privileged to be a visiting professor at the Reynolds Center this semester.
In the past three years, the number of applicants to the program has dramatically increased, showing a growing interest in the topic, Leckey said.
Despite this trend, Linda Austin, executive director of the Reynolds Center, said she hopes the size of the program does not expand drastically in the future.
“There is a value to having a relatively small group — it’s valuable for instruction,” Austin said.
Leckey noted that with the upcoming presidential election and continuing economic problems the nation faces, business journalism carries more influence.
“Today, everybody takes business journalism seriously,” Leckey said. “Five years ago, you had to convince (people) that business journalism was important.”
Business journalism has become a lot more “visible, serious and hard-edged,” due to the financial recession, Bernstein said.
The downturn in the economy also caused journalists to reevaluate their local beats, Austin said.
“All of us – in city hall, sports, health care – all sectors were impacted by the downturn in the economy,” Austin said. “We have to try to understand how the larger economy affects (each of our) local beats.”
Contact the reporter at ltohara@asu.edu
