Reporting Business & Finance

Course Type: In-Company | Course Category: Journalism

Course Introduction

Reporting clear, compelling money stories and understanding company and economic news

What's it about?

Almost all news stories are connected to money and yet many journalists find company and economic news confusing or even frightening. This often results in great stories going unreported or being reported in a bland and uninformed manner. This workshop aims to demystify business and financial news by giving journalists a solid and simple grounding in the basics.

Who should attend?

The course is aimed at early career journalists seeking to write for a broader audience, ideally with two to five years’ experience in TV, print, radio and digital news.

Learning outcomes

  • Generate story ideas for financial and business news reporting
  • Report on basic issues in various financial markets
  • Understand common market terminology, including futures, options, spot market etc.
  • Demonstrate likely market reactions to macroeconomic events
  • List major economic indicators and their components
  • Illustrate the workings of central banks and government budgets
  • Explain risk, how investors assess it and credit ratings
  • Understand the credit crisis and explain its impact today
  • Look for and follow up key issues in company news
  • Write about major trade issues
  • Produce interesting, accurate copy

Benefits

Journalists and the organisations they represent will benefit from an increased understanding of how businesses and economies work. Participants will be able to identify financial stories and report them in a clear and informed manner, engaging their audiences.

Course Structure Highlights

  • The role of the business journalist
  • Basic Economics: business cycle, central banks and monetary policy, interest rates, government budgets and fiscal policy, economic indicators and the building blocks of an economy
  • Introduction to Company News: beginners' guide to company financial statements, types of company stories, how to value companies, the role of stock markets and market reporting
  • Bond and credit markets: how companies raise money, yield curves, bond auctions, risk and rating agencies, the credit crisis and how it happened
  • Commodities, energy and foreign exchange markets: what affects them and what impact they have, supply and demand, futures, spot and physical markets, cartels

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