Business Journalism Specialization, B.A.

Cronkite graduate Bill Hennigan works as an aerospace reporter at the Los Angeles Times.

Dramatic worldwide financial events have increased the demand for journalists who can explain business and economics in print and online and through broadcast and multimedia.

The Business Journalism Specialization combines a thorough understanding of business and economic principles with practical journalism coursework and professional internships. The training takes place at the Cronkite School, the hub of U.S. business journalism, housing the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism and the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.

The specialization places particular emphasis on new financial instruments and the changing regulatory environment. Students take their journalism and business journalism courses in the Cronkite School and related courses in ASU’s W.P. Carey School of Business. Contact with working business journalists through visiting professors and guests is an integral part of the program. Student work frequently appears in periodicals, online and on broadcast outlets.

Cronkite students have most recently been placed in internships at Bloomberg News, Thomson Reuters, CNBC, MarketWatch, MSNBC.com and the business news departments of the Los Angeles Times, Houston Chronicle, Phoenix Business Journal and The Arizona Republic. Graduates are equipped to succeed in the business news operations of all types of media.

Cronkite graduate Annalyn Censky is a CNNMoney.com reporter.

Students in the Business Journalism specialization also have the option to participate in a 14-day, for-credit trip to China to better understand the inner workings of media and business in that important economy.

Scholarships are available for undergraduate students who exhibit potential for business journalism careers.

In addition to course requirements for a degree in the Cronkite School, undergraduate students are required to take the following Business Journalism courses:

JMC 450 Issues in Coverage of Business and the Economy (3 hours)
This seminar focuses on the critical study of business and economic coverage in all media with emphasis on quality, clarity and differences. Students are assigned specific companies and economic issues to follow throughout the semester and work on a final project appropriate to their personal journalism career goals. From balance sheets to regulation to business personalities, the course helps students set their own professional parameters for coverage and learn effective ways to communicate complex topics effectively.

JMC 453 Reporting on Business and the Economy (3 hours)
In this vigorous, hands-on course, students pursue deadline stories dealing with significant business and economic stories both local and national in nature. Outlets for presenting student work include print, online and broadcast news outlets. Students learn how to present complex financial topics in clear, elegant ways, and they complete a final project in their chosen medium. The course prepares prospective business journalists for their internships and first jobs.

Four related business and economics courses selected from the W.P. Carey School are required. Choices include: ACC 382 Accounting and Financial Analysis; ECN 382 Managerial Economics; FIN 380 Personal Financial Management; MGT 380 Management and Strategy for Non-Majors; and REA 380 Real Estate Fundamentals.

For more information on the business journalism specialization, contact Andrew Leckey, the Reynolds Endowed Chair in Business Journalism, at andrew.leckey@asu.edu.