Strictly Financials or Business Journalism Professors seminars: Phoenix, Jan. 2-5

Pictured left: Sandra L. Combs of Arkansas State University was a fellow in the 2013 Business Journalism Professors Seminar. Photo by Aaron Lavinsky.

ATTENTION: Experienced business journalists and prospective business journalism professors.

The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism is offering 24 fellowships worth $1,500 each for four days of study in business journalism – Jan. 2-5, 2014, in Phoenix.

Fellowships cover training, lodging, materials and most meals. Fellows just have to cover their transportation costs.

The seminars will occur during Reynolds Business Journalism Week at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

The journalists’ Strictly Financials Seminar teaches the essentials of covering financials, from stock markets to financial statements and company research. | More on the Strictly Financials Seminar

The Business Journalism Professors Seminar will cover the essentials of teaching a hands-on, university course in business journalism. | More on the Business Journalism Professors Seminar

The seventh annual, concurrent seminars (with 12 fellows attending each one) will be led by award-winning professors and journalists.

Wall Street Journal reporter John W. Miller was a 2013 Strictly Financials Seminar fellow. Photo by Aaron Lavinsky.

WHAT PAST FELLOWS SAY

Michelle Park, a 2013 Strictly Financials fellow  and finance reporter at Crain’s Cleveland Business, said, “I gained a re-energized belief in what I do and what my job can do for my community, if only I’ll look and dig where others might not. I left Strictly Financials inspired by my ability to dig more intelligently into numbers that matter.”
Tom Herman, a 2011 Business Journalism Professors fellow and adjunct instructor at Columbia Journalism School, said,“Your seminar was absolutely superb. The professors were excellent, and I learned a tremendous amount from my fellow students, too.”

TO APPLY

Deadline is 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time Nov. 1, 2013. For information on the two seminars, including how to apply online, go to the call for fellows for Strictly Financials or Business Journalism Professors seminars.

Questions? Email Andrew Leckey, Reynolds Center president, or call 602-496-9186.

ABOUT THE CENTER
The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism, located at ASU’s Cronkite School, was launched in 2003. More than 19,000 journalists have benefited from its free training. A calendar of upcoming free workshops, as well as daily tips on how to cover business better, are at BusinessJournalism.org.

The Center 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 has committed more than $145 million nationwide through its Journalism Program

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Apply for fellowships to attend Strictly Financials Seminar 2014

The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism is offering fellowships worth $1,500 for four days of intensive study in financials and accounting Jan. 2-5, 2014 in Phoenix.

Limited to 12 professional journalists with at least two years of business journalism experience, the seventh annual Strictly Financials 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. Fellows have to cover just their transportation costs.

This seminar will cover the essentials of of covering financials, from stock markets and bonds to financial statements and company research.

Danielle Douglas of The Washington Post attended the 2013 Strictly Financials Seminar. Photo by Aaron Lavinsky.

“We’re offering this seminar in answer to requests from many participants in our one-day workshops who want to raise their sophistication level in all the financial aspects of business coverage,” said Andrew Leckey, president of the Reynolds Center. “Spending a week digging into balance sheets and accounting should provide a real boost to every journalist’s expertise.”

WHAT PAST FELLOWS SAY

Christopher Otts, a 2013 Strictly Financials fellow from The Courier-Journal, said, “Strictly Financials provided an excellent overview of financial statements and markets. I can’t thank you enough for providing this opportunity.”Mary Judd, a 2012 Strictly Financials fellow and reporter at the Fulton County Daily Report, said, “Thank you! I wish I’d had this experience 27 years ago when I began my career. What a generous, innovative investment the Reynolds Center is making in our profession, our economy and ultimately our world understanding of capitalism.”

HOW TO APPLY

The selection process is highly competitive, and applicants must be professional journalists working in the United States or, if based overseas, for media outlets serving a U.S. audience. They must provide by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time Nov. 1, 2013, at BusinessJournalism.org:

Contact informationA resumeA 100-word bio500-word statement of why you are interested in attending the seminar, how it would improve your coverage and how you would share this knowledge with colleaguesA letter of support from your editor recommending you for the seminar, explaining how your attendance would benefit the organization, and supporting your time away from work to attend. (Waived for freelancers.)

WHAT TO EXPECT

To give you an idea of what to expect, here’s the agenda from the 2013 Strictly Financials Seminar. And here are video recordings, slides and handouts from the 2013 seminar:

Day 1: Business Journalists as Investigators, Understanding Markets and the Income Statement, Common-Size Analysis and SEC DocumentsDay 2: Understanding Balance Sheets and Cash Flows, Understanding Goodwill and Proforma, Comparing Companies and Understanding Financial Statements for Banks, Mining SEC DocumentsDay 3: Decoding Financial StatementsDay 4: Financial Markets

Journalism professors from around the country, who are attending a concurrent seminar on how to teach business journalism, will attend some classes with Strictly Financials Fellows.

QUESTIONS?

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

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