Before joining academia, Leoro was the editor of LIDERES, a business magazine in Ecuado. She is also the author of “International Protection for Refugees: Historic Perspective from 1976-2004 in  Ecuador” and continues to work as a freelance reporter.  

Ragas, a Business Journalism Professors Fellow at this year’s Reynolds Business Journalism Week, took a few minutes to share his secrets to success for aspiring business journalists.

Pulling on his experience as a veteran financial journalist, Wells offered tips of how reporters can get the knowledge to succeed on the business beat.

During the Business Journalism Professor Seminars on Jan. 2-5, Davis chatted with us about opportunities in the blogosphere. She shared tips on how to create a “Portfolio of You” to continue moving forward in the marketplace.

Some of her insights included:

• To be credible, go through a well-established program so that you understand how to source, attribute, and report.
• You are your own brand. Market yourself accordingly.
• Be well rounded. Know how to do everything.
• Always be ready to redefine and improve your skills.

Reynolds Business Journalism Professor Fellows. Photo by Michel Duarte

During her career as a manager, trainer, recruiter, editor, and now in her current role as a team leader for Congress at Bloomberg News, Jodi Schneider has hired and supervised diverse personalities. With years in the business, she can relate to the often daunting task of helping students find jobs in journalism.

But since professors are often the lifeline for students seeking a journalism career, Schneider said it’s important to take this challenge seriously. She offered a tips for helping newbies prepare for the job market to a group gathered for the Business Journalism Professors Seminar on Jan 2-5.

Here are some of the top takeaways from the session:

Job seeking needs to be taught as a skill, even at the high school level.  Make this a part of the conversation not just when students are heading out the door and ready to graduate. “In our business you are going to switch the kind of job you have many times over,” Schneider said. “We should be teaching people how to navigate this new system.”

View your class time as set aside time. Whatever time you can dedicate to teaching job-seeking skills will not only help your students, it will help your program.

Bring in speakers who can tell students how to get hired.  Remind students that the chance to mingle with speakers will help them develop relationships for the future.

Students should be looking for internships early on in their college career as this will allow them to “test out” a workplace. Students should seek out internship opportunities for professional credibility, even at places that might not be their first pick. Make sure you instruct students to think outside the box.

Jodi Schneider

Network, network, network. Schneider suggests showing students LinkedIn to learn about networking and encouraging them to join professional groups.“There is extraordinary pressure on managers to get the right hire.” Schneider said.  “And they’re going to be very reluctant to hire somebody unless they know or worked with someone who knows them…It’s important for students to understand they are not just selling an idea of themselves.”

Facebook pages need to be scrubbed clean. Recruiters, editors and other managers may read them when they are backgrounding a candidate.

Know the company. The research a student conducts before an interview is important to landing the job.

Education and experience are necessary.  “These days people are not getting hired on education alone,” Schneider said.  ”Experience is the key to getting the job you want.”

Focused  job searches. Students should think about the geographical area, pick three regions, and know why they would want to work in those areas. Students can also set themselves apart by knowing the kind of publication they want to work with and by having a specialty area.

Packet preparation.  Student resumes should be one page and accomplishment-based as much as possible.  In the cover letter, tell students to use journalistic storytelling skills to tell a bit more about themselves.  It’s not a bad idea to follow up with a thank-you note or email within 24 hours of an interview.

Robin J. Phillips stressed that LinkedIn is especially useful for business jouralists. Photo: Kelly Carr

Robin Phillips, the web managing editor of the Reynolds Center and adjunct journalism professor at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, detailed ways financial journalists can utilize LinkedIn on the business beat.

Phillips told a group of journalists gathered for the Strictly Financials and Business Journalism Professor Seminars that the career-building website can be used to promote and brand themselves, as well as to find sources and contacts for stories.

“I moved to several different jobs across the country,” Phillips said. “But I could bring all my colleagues with me using LinkedIn.”

According to Phillips, the 135-million-user résumé and social media website is user-updated, very portable, and well-sorted by company, industry and geography. All these features help create a user-friendly and professional-focused network.

Here are some of Phillips top tips for how business journalists can effectively use LinkedIn:

• Maintain a current profile even if you are not actively looking for a job. This keeps your coworkers, employers, sources, etc., updated.
• Have a complete profile. This includes your work background, skills and connections.
• Don’t cut-and-paste your résumé. Give your work history personal flair.
• Make your profile public. LinkedIn is a professional network serving the purpose of communication and job-hunting, public disclosure is essential.
• Recommend people, but avoid recommendation “swapping.” It is acceptable to write recommendation for someone who has asked for one from you, as long as the letter is genuine.
• Join groups and discussion boards. Joining groups allows users to discuss issues of interest and share information.
• Keeping non-professional accounts separate from LinkedIn. This prevents people from intruding your personal life, and helps you build a completely professional image.

Photo by Michel Duarte

Alan Deutschman has spent more than 20 years as a financial journalist – mostly writing about technology and Silicon Valley – for a slew of national publications including Fortune and Vanity Fair. He has also written four books, including an in-depth biography, The Second Coming of Steve Jobs.

In 2010, he took on a new challenge, this time in academia. Deutschman is now the Reynolds Chair of Business Journalism at the University of Nevada in Reno, a role that has him guiding future business journalists.   

And while the transition to academia was welcomed by Deutschman, it was not without unexpected twists and turns. He shared his classroom experience with the Reynolds Business Journalism Professor Fellows in a session called “Reflections on a Rookie Year.”    

Alan Deutschman

Below are insights Deutschman shared about his first year teaching business journalism:  

The prosaic very quickly led into the profound. “It was exciting to me that they (students) were interested in looking at business in a kind of humanistic way,” Deutschman said.  “When I was trying to give them the nuts and bolts they wanted the philosophy, they wanted the psychology and it was a great introduction to the course.” 

Dealing with inspiration verses perspiration when training business journalists. After much thought about the challenge, Deutschman rented a van and drove students to San Francisco to visit the offices of Facebook, Fortune, and Bloomberg. He said it was inspiring for students to meet accomplished journalists. As a result, the students gained insight into the dedication and focus they need going forward.

Requests for all media, all the time. Halfway through the semester his students asked if instead of just reading long magazine articles they could diversify their media diet. For next year he decided to incorporate different media options throughout the semester. 

Shared governance. From creating a Facebook group used as a forum, to turning students’ leadership issues into case studies, shared governance helped to build a sense of community in the class.

Handing over control. Deutschman says the riskiest action he took was to let students design their own projects matching the level of the course.  He worried about punting his own responsibility, but the students gave themselves assignments and challenges that were far beyond his expectations.

Gary Trennepohl, president of the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa, teaches at the Strictly Financials Seminar in Phoenix in January 2011. He will return in 2012.

The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism has selected 36 fellows – 20 journalists and 16 professors – for four days of intensive study in business journalism.

The fellows will attend separate, all-expenses-paid seminars Jan. 2-5 at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Phoenix.  Journalists in the Strictly Financials Seminar learn how to dissect financial statements and SEC documents. Prospective business journalism professors receive training in how to teach a university-level course in business journalism. | Coverage of 2011 Strictly Financials and Business Journalism Professors seminars

“We were impressed by the growing number, quality and commitment of applicants in this sixth year of our annual business journalism seminars,” said Andrew Leckey, president of the Reynolds Center and the Reynolds Chair in Business Journalism at the Cronkite School. “The global economy and volatile markets have made it clear to everyone that journalists with sophisticated business knowledge provide a needed service to society.”

The seminars, taught by highly regarded business journalists and business journalism professors, are part of Reynolds Business Journalism Week at the Cronkite School. A highlight of the week is a discussion with the legendary investigative-reporting duo of Don Barlett and Jim Steele, along with the 2011 winners of the Reynolds Center’s Barlett & Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism.

The 2012 fellows are:

Strictly Financials Seminar

• Tali Arbel, newsperson, The Associated Press
• Allan Brettman, business reporter, The Oregonian
• Jan Buchholz, reporter, Phoenix Business Journal
• Ronald Campbell, staff writer, The Orange County Register
• Alejandra Cancino, reporter, Chicago Tribune
• Mary Smith Judd, special projects editor, Fulton County Daily Report
• Megan Kamerick, senior reporter, New Mexico Business Weekly
• Carlie Kollath, business reporter, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal
• Kavita Kumar, reporter, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• Lily Leung, reporter, The San Diego Union-Tribune
• Shan Li, retail reporter, Los Angeles Times
• Eric Lipton, reporter, The New York Times
• Emerald Sierra Morrow, digital content producer, KMOV-TV
• Dawn Nici, morning news anchor, KFNN radio
• Susan Orr, staff writer, Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press
• Anna Prior, staff reporter, SmartMoney
• Kristi E. Swartz, business reporter, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• Venessa Wong, reporter, Bloomberg Businessweek
• Jeff Young, senior correspondent, PRI’s “Living on Earth,” and Donald W. Reynolds Nieman Fellow in Business Journalism
• Hibah Yousuf, markets reporter, CNNMoney.com

Business Journalism Professors Seminar

• Sharon Bernstein, Reynolds Visiting Professor, Arizona State University
  
• Karen Blumenthal, Reynolds Visiting Professor, Texas Christian University
• Rhonda J. Clark, assistant professor, Missouri Southern State University
• Carol A. Davis, instructor, High Point University
• Mark B. Egan, adjunct professor, Montclair State University
• Maria Albertina Navas Leoro, lecturer, Universidad de las Americas, Quito, Ecuador
• Ralph Stephen Merkel, adjunct professor, University of Louisville
• Kristina J. Morehouse, lecturer, Gonzaga University
• Janice Paskey, assistant professor, Mount Royal University, Calgary, Canada
• Matthew W. Ragas, Ph.D., assistant professor, DePaul University
• Rob Reuteman, Reynolds Visiting Professor, Colorado State University
• Lewis Smith, lecturer, Prairie View A&M University
• Ingrid Sturgis, assistant professor, Howard University
• Will Sutton, Reynolds Visiting Professor, Grambling State University
• Jean van der Spuy, adjunct professor, Marymount Manhattan College
• Rob Wells, Reynolds Visiting Professor, University of South Carolina

ABOUT THE REYNOLDS CENTER

Since 2003, more than 10,000 journalists have learned to cover business better through free training from the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism. The center is at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University’s Phoenix campus. The center offers regional workshops and Webinars, as well as daily tips to cover business better at BusinessJournalism.org.

It is funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur for whom it is named. Headquartered in Las Vegas, it is one of the largest private foundations in the United States.

 Questions? Email President Andrew Leckey of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism or call 602-496-9186.

The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism is offering fellowships worth $2,000 for four days of intensive study in how to teach an undergraduate course in business journalism Jan. 2-5, 2012, in Phoenix.

Limited to 12 prospective professors, the sixth annual “Business Journalism Professors Seminar” will take place during Reynolds Business Journalism Week at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Fellowships cover the full cost of training, lodging, materials and most meals. In addition, fellows receive a $500 stipend to help offset travel and other costs.

Pam Luecke, Reynolds Endowed Chair in Business Journalism at Washington and Lee University, teaches at the 2010 Business Journalism Professors Seminar at Arizona State University. Photo by Molly Smith.

This seminar will cover the essentials of teaching a hands-on course, including financial, economic and writing aspects. It is an opportunity for prospective business journalism professors to learn from experienced instructors and journalism professionals, with follow-up after the seminar ends as well.

A 2008 participant, Roger Desmond, professor of communication at the University of Hartford, won a university award for innovation in teaching for starting a business journalism course. The award “came with some extra money for research and travel, and of course, I owe it all to you!” he wrote.

The sessions will be led by award-winning professors and journalists, including James Gentry, journalism professor at the University of Kansas. Gentry received the Barry Sherman Teaching Award from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in 2008.

A highlight of the week will be a panel discussion with the legendary investigative-reporting duo of Don Barlett and Jim Steele, along with the 2011 winners of the Reynolds Center’s Barlett & Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism.

In addition, business journalists from around the country, who are attending a concurrent seminar called “Strictly Financials,” will attend some classes with the professors.

The selection process is highly competitive, and applicants must supply the following by 11:59 p.m. PDT Nov. 1 at BusinessJournalism.org:

• Contact information
• A 500-word statement explaining why they should be chosen and how the seminar will improve their instruction
• A resume
• A one-paragraph bio
• A letter of support from their dean or department head recommending the applicant and outlining the program’s commitment to offering a course in business journalism.

Questions? Contact Andrew Leckey, Reynolds Center president, at Andrew.Leckey@businessjournalism.org or 602-496-9186.

To give you an idea of what to expect, here’s coverage from Reynolds Business Journalism Week 2011, and the agenda for the 2011 Business Journalism Professors Seminar follows:

REYNOLDS BUSINESS JOURNALISM WEEK 2012

AGENDA: “Business Journalism Professors Seminar” — TENTATIVE

Phoenix, Ariz.

Jan. 2-5, 2012
Monday — Jan. 2, 2012

• 8 a.m. Continental Breakfast — (Combined groups) — First Amendment Forum
• 8:30 a.m. Welcome — (Combined groups)— Forum — Andrew Leckey
• 9 a.m.“Today’s Business Journalists as Investigators” — (Combined groups) — Forum — Diana B. Henriques of The New York Times
• 10:15-10:30 a.m. Break – Computer lab open for all breaks during the week (RM 352)
• 10:30 a.m. “Deciding What to Teach” — RM 355 — Chris Roush
• NOON Box lunch with Diana Henriques — (Combined groups) — Forum
• 1:30 p.m. “Organizing Your Class” — RM 355 — Roush
• 2:30 p.m. Case Study: “Syllabus Writing”— RM 355 — Roush
• 3:15-3:30 p.m. Break
• 3:30 p.m. “Resources and Keeping Students Interested” — RM 355 — Roush
• 5-5:20 p.m. Group photos — (Combined groups) — Forum
• 5:20 p.m. Dinner – Southwestern Buffet — (Combined groups) — Forum

Tuesday — Jan. 3, 2012

• 8 a.m. Continental breakfast — (Combined groups) — Forum
• 8:30 a.m. “Mission Possible: Assignments that Build Skills” — (Combined groups) — RMS 355 — Pam Luecke
• 9:45 a.m. “Preparing Students for Business Journalism’s Future”— RM 355 — Randy Smith
• 10:45-11 a.m. Break
• 11 a.m. “Reflections on a Rookie Year” — RM 355 — Alan Deutschman
• NOON Awards Luncheon with Jim Steele — (Combined groups) — Forum — “Reynolds Center’s 2010 Barlett & Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism” — Panel Discussion and Presentation of Awards
• (Reynolds Chairs will meet at 1:30 in the Reynolds Conference RM 306F.)
• 1:30 p.m. “Teaching the Effective Use of Data in Business Coverage” — RMS 352 — Steve Doig
• 3-3:15 p.m. Break
• 3:15 p.m. “Injecting Multimedia into Your Business Journalism Class” — RMS 355 — Mark Tatge
• 5 p.m. Adjourn
• EVENING FREE

WEDNESDAY — Jan. 4, 2012

• 8 a.m. Continental breakfast — (Combined groups) — Forum
• 8:30 a.m. “Financial Statements I” — RM 355 — Jimmy Gentry
• 10:45-11:00 a.m. Break
• 11 a.m. “Financial Statements I” (continued) and “Securities and Exchange Commission Filings” — RM 355 —Jimmy Gentry
• Lunch – Garden Buffet — “Getting LinkedIn: Exploring LinkedIn, a social/career tool that is filled with useful data for business journalists” — (Combined groups) — Forum — Robin J. Phillips
• 1:30 p.m. “Financial Statements II” — RM 355 — Jimmy Gentry
• 3-3:15 p.m. Break
• 3:15 p.m. “Financial Statements II” (continued) and “Tools for Analysis: Common Size” — RM 355 — Jimmy Gentry
• 5 p.m. Cronkite Building Tour —(Combined groups) — Outside RM 302 – Leadership Suite (in front of elevators) — Kristin Gilger
• 5:30 p.m. Dinner conversation on marketing your business program — Forum — Andrew Leckey

THURSDAY — Jan. 5, 2012

• 8 a.m. Continental breakfast — (Combined groups) — Forum
• 8:30 a.m. “What Editors Expect” — Room 444
  Panel: Linda Austin, Ilana Lowery, Jodi Schneider and Kathy Tulumello.
  
• 9:45-10 a.m. Break
• 10 a.m. “Preparing for the Job Market” — RM 444 — Jodi Schneider
• 11:30 a.m. Certificate Presentation — (Combined groups) — RM 444
• NOON Box Lunch/Adjourn — (Combined groups) — RM 444

The sixth annual Business Journalism Professors Seminar will be held Jan. 2-5, 2012, at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Phoenix.

Limited to 12 prospective professors, the fellowships, valued at $2,000, cover the full cost of training, lodging, materials and most meals. In addition, fellows receive a $500 stipend to help offset travel and other costs. Application deadline is Nov. 1.

This seminar will cover the essentials of teaching a hands-on course, including financial, economic and writing aspects. It is an opportunity for prospective business journalism professors to learn from experienced instructors and journalism professionals.

A 2008 participant, Roger Desmond, professor of communication at the University of Hartford, won a university award for innovation in teaching for starting a business journalism course. The award “came with some extra money for research and travel, and of course, I owe it all to you!” he wrote.

“The seminar helped me transition from the newsroom to the classroom,” 2010 fellow Leslie Wayne said. “It provided helpful course outlines, teaching techniques, practical advice from talented and experienced professionals and, even more, a sense of encouragement.”

Pam Luecke, Reynolds Endowed Chair in Business Journalism at Washington and Lee University, presents at the 2010 Business Journalism Professors Seminar at Arizona State University. Photo by Molly Smith.

Wayne, former business reporter for The New York Times, later served as the first Reynolds Visiting Professor in Business Journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The visiting professors program is expanding to four more campuses in spring 2012.

The Business Journalism Professors Seminar will be led by award-winning professors and journalists, including James Gentry, journalism professor at the University of Kansas. Gentry received the Barry Sherman Teaching Award from AEJMC.

A highlight of the week will be a panel discussion with the legendary investigative-reporting duo of Don Barlett and Jim Steele, along with the 2011 winners of the Reynolds Center’s annual Barlett & Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism.

The selection process is highly competitive, and applicants must supply the following at BusinessJournalism.org:

• Contact information
• A 500-word statement explaining how the seminar will improve their instruction and why they should be chosen
• A resume
• A one-paragraph bio
• A letter of support from their dean or department head recommending the applicant and outlining the program’s commitment to offering a course in business journalism.

For more information, email Andrew Leckey, president of the Reynolds Center and Reynolds Endowed Chair in Business Journalism at ASU, or call him at 602-496-9186.

The call for entries will be announced at AEJMC’s 2011 St. Louis Convention Aug. 10-13.