Many Rewards May Await Business Desk Interns

By Lena Fung Warmack
March 4, 2004 02:12 PM

One of the best decisions an editorial intern can make is to work for a business section. As in other beats, such as education and sports, a strong command of reporting, writing and interviewing techniques is necessary. Like any other competitive profession, junior reporters must develop a diversified set of skills to cover a wide range of subjects under deadline pressure.

Business journalism is an ideal starting point for eager and energetic interns ready to tackle challenging stories.

There are many rewards for interns who choose to cover business. First, you have the advantage of working with some of the field's most sophisticated and seasoned reporters. Second, as a business intern, you learn how to think along broader terms when approaching topics, make sense of verbose jargon and acronyms constantly used by many industry professionals and find the financial angle to almost any story. Most importantly, if you can survive a 12-week internship on the business desk, you can cover just about any beat in time.

I asked several editors and writers for tips for young reporters who are considering a business internship:

• Be proactive

Mark Zieman, editor and vice president for The Kansas City Star, said interns must grab the attention of their editors by showing initiative and developing their own story ideas instead of waiting for an assignment.

• Ask questions

Steve Rosen, deputy business editor for The Kansas City Star, said interns should meet with their assignment editors daily. "Don't be bashful. Don't wait for a set time or appointment to talk to the editor," Rosen said. "Prepare a list of story ideas you want to work on. Be prepared to turn in rough outlines on enterprise story ideas so the editor knows the direction."

• Find the human interest angle

"The best business stories -- just like the best Metro or Sports stories -- are about people and their competition, conflict, triumph or failure. What's different is the venues on which they compete, and how they measure success," said Rex Seline, managing editor for The Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

While interning at the St. Paul Pioneer Press, I wrote a profile on a Hmong casket company called Twin City Caskets in St. Paul, Minn. The owners started the small business after hearing numerous complaints from Hmong people upset with American caskets made with metal and plastic. (The Hmong people are mountain dwellers from Laos and arrived in the United States during the late 1970s as refugees of the Vietnam War. About 45,000 Hmong live in Minnesota which has the largest Hmong population in the country next to Fresno, Calif.)

Because of their animist belief system, the Hmong prefer caskets made of a particular type of wood called Hinoki. Despite the decline of the U.S. casket industry, Twin City Caskets has survived on a specialized niche market with a loyal client base of Southeast Asian customers.

• Localize trends and events

Don Nelson, business team leader at the St. Paul Pioneer Press, said interns should look for story nuggets hidden in press releases, earnings reports and government pronouncements. "Read a little deeper with an open mind and keen eye, and you'll discover possibilities that others have missed," Nelson said.

• Try everything

Randy Heaster, a business writer at The Kansas City Star, said interns should become familiar with reading earnings statements and other financial documents. In addition, they should read business publications regularly such as The Wall Street Journal, Barron's and BusinessWeek.

• Don't pretend to know more than your sources

"Be smart and ask a lot of questions," Seline said. "Keep asking questions until you understand what the sources are saying."

• Be remembered

Contribute excellent work and leave your internship on a good note. "If you do your story and you go home, we'll be happy," Zieman said. "But if you do the story and say you'd like to do more, then you will be remembered."

In short, a business internship is an opportunity for enthusiastic interns to shine and demonstrate their reporting talents. But it is not only about leaving with a packet of clips in hand that show your knack for numbers and understanding of financial companies. It is also a chance to develop relationships with your colleagues.

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