ì  Business  Journalism  in  10  Steps  

Randy  Smith  Reynolds  Endowed  Chair  in  Business  Journalism  Missouri  School  of  Journalism    

About  me  

ì  Thirty  years  at  The  Kansas  City  Star.  

ì  Pulitzer  team  in  1981  that  covered  HyaD  skywalks  collapse.  

ì  Several  roles:  Business  editor,  City  editor,  Deputy  ME,  overseeing  naKonal,  suburbs,  city  desk  and  special  projects.  Last  job:  Director  of  Strategic  Development.  

ì  President  of  Society  of  American  Business  Editors  and  Writers;    president  of  the  Alfred  Friendly  Press  Fellowships.  

ì  Worked  as  a  reporter  and  editor  in  LA  and  the  South  for  two  other  newspapers  in  the  1970s.  

At  the  big  city  metros  

At  the  mid-­‐size,  smaller  papers  

Bloomberg,  Reuters  

Competition  is  growing  

ì  Jobs  will  be  different  

Fewer  high  paid  anchors  in  our  cities  

Fewer  investigative  stories  at  big  papers  and  networks  

Journalism  is  not  dead  

More  new  ventures  

ì  

10  lessons  from  my  first  year  of  teaching  

Preparing  students  for  the  journey  

Lesson  1:  You’ll  need  to  recruit  students  

ì  Help  them  get  to  a  conference.  

ì  Help  them  apply  for  awards.  

ì  Help  them  with  scholarships  

ì  Help  with  internships.  

ì  Create  a  movie  night.  

ì  Start  a  freshman  group  

Lesson  2:  Honey  is  a  potent  force  

ì  InnovaKon.  

ì  Entrepreneurism.  

ì  Exploring  their  ideas.  

ì  Sharing  great  stories.  

ì  Great  speakers.  

ì  InspiraKon  –  new  classes.  

Missouri  Business  Alert  

Three  new  classes  

ì  Entrepreneurism:  One  graduate  level  course  for  MBAs  and  journalism  students  that  brings  real  entrepreneurs  to  the  class  with  real  problems.  

ì  Journalism  and  Chaos:  One  graduate/undergraduate  course  that  teaches  journalism  students  how  to  take  an  idea  and  shape  it  into  a  business  plan.  

ì  The  Basics:  How  to  get  a  job  at  Bloomberg,  Reuters.  

Use  your  resources  

ì  Is  there  an  e-­‐reader  or  an  iPod  in  the  house?  

ì  Can  I  get  a  free  newspaper?  (quiz  them  weekly)  

ì  Cameras,  digital  recorders?  

ì  Bloomberg  terminal?  

ì  Searching  the  Internet:  Dorothy  Carner  exercises.  hDp://mulibraries.missouri.edu/journalism/resourcesfor/undergraduateresources.htm  

ì  What’s  missing  from  the  library?  The  Economist?  

Lesson  3:  Math  isn’t  scary  

.  

A  budget  assignment  due  on  Monday    

ì  Assume  $25,000  in  student  debt.  

ì  Assume  a  $159/month  car  payment.  

ì  Three  months  conKngency  fund.  

ì  We’ll  assign  you  a  city.  

ì  Research  all  of  the  expenses  that  you  might  have.  

ì  BoDom  line:  How  much  money  will  you  need  to  make  in  your  first  year  on  the  job?  

ì  There’s  one  thing  that  I’m  leaving  off  the  following  list.  

Doing  a  budget  

Portland Oregonian Job Budget

Rent $6,000 $500 per month

Bills $3,000 Springfield COI + 57%

Food $6,500 Springfield COI + 57%

Transportation $2,000

Est daily driving x 365 / est. mileage x $3.25 average gas price, + est. oil changes and tires

Car Payments $1,800 Car payment of $160 monthly, per assignment

Insurance $2,100 Car + Renters

Entertainment $2,000 A generous amount, for miserly me.

Other $3,000

Including clothing, replacement appliances, and a hefty chunk for whatever it is I forgot.

Loan payments $2,900 Per on online loan calculator

Emergency $8,825 Annual expense / 4, + COBRA X 3

Total $38,125

Can live much cheaper under normal circumstances, but planned for the worst.

What  was  left  out  of  this  exercise?  

By  the  end  of  the  class,  we’re  doing  this  

Fourth  Lesson:  Entrepreneurism  

ì  Teach  basic  business  skills:  How  to  build  a  budget,  how  to  protect  your  ideas,  how  to  market  your  ideas.  

ì  Expose  students  to  entrepreneurs  and  look  at  some  case  studies.  

ì  Assign  some  case  studies  on  companies  that  are  succeeding:  Angie’s  List  and  PoliKco  are  two  that  we  did  last  semester.  

ì  Challenge  them  to  come  up  with  their  own  models,  and  present  their  ideas  in  class.  Who  knows?  New  ideas  might  be  worth  funding.  

New  ideas  from  unusual  places  

Don’t  be  like    Western  Union…  

When  this  guy  showed  up!  

Fifth  exercise:  Good  Books  

ì  John  KoDer’s  “Our  Iceberg  is  MelKng.”  

ì  Clayton  Christensen’s  “The  Innovator’s  SoluKon.”  

ì  Chris  Roush’s  “Show  Me  the  Money.”  

Clayton  Christensen:  Seeing  What’s  Next  

ì  Resources,  Processes  and  Values  Theory    

ì    Incumbent  companies  are  not  as  creaKve  as  independent  counterparts.  So  they’re  more  likely  to  be  vulnerable  to  disrupKve  innovaKons.  Everything  that  they  do  -­‐    resources,  processes  and  values  -­‐  lock  them  into  a  mindset  that  does  not  allow  them  to  think  like  an  entrepreneur.  

Sixth  exercise:  Good  writing  sells  

ì  Too  much  of  business  journalism  is  difficult  to  read.  

ì  Focus  your  students  on  award-­‐winning    work  that  analyzes  the  complex  in  easy  to  understand  ways.  

ì  Feed  them  stories  about  entrepreneurs  who  succeeded  and  why  –  and  those  that  don’t.  

Seventh  exercise:  A  world  view  

ì  Students  are  flocking  to    internaKonal  service  projects,  but  they  do  not  have  a  real  understanding  of  the  world.  

ì  Create  opportuniKes  for  them  to  aDend  exciKng  presentaKons  and  have  them  write  about  them  from  a  business  perspecKve.  

ì  David  Crane  and  diamonds.  

What  continent  skipped  the  PC?  

Africa  

 What’s  the  next  Saudi  Arabia?  

Chile  and  Bolivia  

Consider  my  recent  job  

ì  An  firm  in  India  did  most  our  basic  back-­‐office  financial  work.  

ì  A  German  company  watched  over  our  presses  24/7.  

ì  A  Philippine  company  handled  all  of  our  circulaKon  department’s  phone  calls/messaging.  

ì  A  Danish  firm  developed  and  watched  over  our  computer  solware.  

Eighth  exercise:  Stress  versatility  

Keys  to  your  versatility    

ì  Stress  the  tools  on  your  tool  belt:  digital,  academic,  wriKng,  reporKng,  radio,  television.  Teach  this  right  away!  

ì  Work  history  with  an  accent  on  accomplishments.  

ì  EducaKon  with  an  accent  on  what  you  learned.  

ì  Achievements.    For  example,  student  body  president.  

ì  AcKviKes.  Try  to  show  community  involvement.  

ì  Show  your  ability  to  learn  and  adapt  to  changing  technology.  

A  key  lesson:  Fix  it  yourself  

ì  Most  of  the  technology  that  we’re  teaching  today  at  the  university  level  will  be  obsolete  within  a  few  years.  

ì  Learning  Dreamweaver.  Work  with  your  computer  folks  to  create  a  how-­‐to  video.  

ì  Learning  other  technologies  without  a  teacher  holding  your  hand.  

ì  Real  skills  for  the  real  world.  

ì  Michelle  Nicolosi  at  seaDlepi.com  (Newsroom  went  from  170  to  42).  

Ninth:  Help  students  find  work  

ì  Spend  Kme  helping  students  with  their  resumes.  Too  many  colleges  don’t  do  this  anymore  or  make  it  a  backburner  item.  

ì  Talk  to  them  about  how  to  approach  an  interview  and  what/what  not  to  say.  

ì  Teach  them  how  to  research  the  prospecKve  company  and  also  themselves.  

Some  of  my  tips  on  getting  ready  

Facebook,  LinkedIn,  etc.  

ì  Google  yourself  and  see  what  comes  up.  

ì  Is  there  anything  that  you  wouldn’t  want  an  employer  to  see  on  any  of  your  social  networking  accounts?  

ì  Do  you  write  your  opinions  on  current  events  of  the  day?  This  will  come  up.  

ì  Do  you  have  a  blog?  Not  a  negaKve  unless  you’ve  done  something  embarrassing.  If  so,  expect  it  to  come  up.  

ì  Several  media  companies  have  turned  down  applicants  because  their  blogs/Facebook  posKngs  show  they  can’t  be  imparKal.  

ì  FYI.  Anything  you  submit  will  likely  end  up  on  the  Internet.  

A  class  exercise  

ì  Tell  me  about  yourself.  Focus  on  professional  experience  and  talk  about  your  successes.  

ì  What  are  your  strengths?  

ì  What  are  your  weaknesses,  and  what  are  you  doing  to  correct  them?  

ì  Always  have  three  quesKons  for  the  interviewer.  

Filling  in  the  blank  slate  

Follow-­‐up  with  a  handwritten  note      

Tenth:  Be  available  

ì  This  is  complex  stuff.  

ì  Students  need  to  feel  comfortable  with  you.  

ì  They  have  different  hours  than  we  do.  

ì  They  have  other  pressures  outside  of  your  class.  

ì  Make  sure  that  they  learn.  

Final  Point  

ì  We  should  not  forget  our  foremost  mission:  To  train  journalists  in  the  basics  and  fundamentals  of  our  field.  

ì  Our  industry  will  always  need  journalists  who  understand  the  basics  and  can  write  clearly,  puong  news  and  events  into  context.