NEW YORK, May 16, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dow Jones, a global provider of news and business information, and Columbia Journalism School today announced the launch of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Media Collective. This dynamic journalism talent incubator is designed to enhance newsroom diversity and promote financial literacy for participating students. The inaugural cohort includes nine emerging journalists hand-selected by deans or faculty from Dillard University, Howard University, Morehouse College, Morgan State University, Spelman College and Texas Southern University.
From May 19–27, 2023, the HBCU Media Collective program will embed participating students in Dow Jones newsrooms to learn financial reporting skills and gain real-life experience working alongside professional journalists and leaders at The Wall Street Journal, Barron's and MarketWatch in New York. The program also provides on-site education and training with renowned educators at Columbia Journalism School to expand the students’ financial literacy and understanding of how financial journalism intersects with sports, politics and culture.
“We're proud to partner with Dow Jones in offering this dynamic, transformative opportunity to an outstanding group of students,” said Dr. Jelani Cobb, dean of the Columbia Journalism School. “We’re investing in and training diverse talent to elevate and safeguard the strength of a free press that can build trust among all communities. I cannot overstate the importance of this experience to support journalism education, financial acumen and to build a strong pipeline of diverse talent for news organizations.”
The program includes newsroom and journalism school training, including breaking news reporting of timely financial topics and how to best incorporate diverse voices and perspectives in the news report.
“This program reinforces the excellence we strive for in our journalism and the importance of collaboration with external partners who can help us identify exceptional, diverse talent for training and mentoring opportunities,” said Brent Jones, SVP of Training, Culture & Community at Dow Jones. “We're eager to see the short- and long-term gains from this exchange of learning and how stories written through the coverage lens of business, finance and economics can make a difference, especially in marginalized communities.”
“The HBCU Media Collective involves rigorous training and hands-on exposure to what an actual day in the life of a financial reporter looks like,” said David Cho, editor in chief of Barron’s. “We’re thrilled to share our expertise with these student journalists and welcome them to our newsroom as part of this dynamic learning experience.”
Mark DeCambre, MarketWatch editor in chief, added, “This program exposes participants to meaningful training, reporting principles and journalism standards. We feel honored to collaborate with Columbia Journalism School and these students as they learn more about financial news reporting and become even stronger storytellers.”
The HBCU Media Collective is one of many opportunities Dow Jones offers to encourage careers in financial journalism and as part of its commitment to diversity and inclusion. Other Dow Jones Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiatives include:
- Trust Fellows, an internal professional advancement program
- Lehman Journo-Tech Fellows, which incorporates data tools and nontraditional journalists in the news-gathering process
- WSJ Finance Reporting Fellowships, a professional fellowship for early-career journalists; the next application season opens in September 2023
- Morgan State Business Journalism Exchange, an outreach program that expands with an accredited course in investigative journalism Fall semester 2023
- Year-round internship opportunities at Dow Jones publications
About Dow Jones
Dow Jones is a global provider of news and business information, delivering content to consumers and organizations around the world across multiple formats, including print, digital, mobile and live events. Dow Jones has produced unrivaled quality content for more than 130 years and today has one of the world’s largest news-gathering operations globally. It is home to leading publications and products including the flagship Wall Street Journal, America’s largest newspaper by paid circulation; Barron’s, MarketWatch, Mansion Global, Financial News, Investor’s Business Daily, Factiva, Dow Jones Risk & Compliance, Dow Jones Newswires, OPIS and Chemical Market Analytics. Dow Jones is a division of News Corp (Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV).
About Columbia Journalism School
For more than a century, the Columbia Journalism School has been preparing journalists in programs that stress academic rigor, ethics, journalistic inquiry and professional practice. Founded with a gift from Joseph Pulitzer, the school opened in 1912 and offers Master of Science, Master of Arts, Master of Science in Data Journalism, a joint Master of Science degree in Computer Science and Journalism, The Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Economics and Business Journalism and a Doctor of Philosophy in Communications. It houses the Columbia Journalism Review, the Brown Institute for Media Innovation, The Tow Center for Digital Journalism, The Ira A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights and the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. The school also administers many of the leading journalism awards, including the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, the Maria Moors Cabot Prizes, the John Chancellor Award, the John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism, the Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma, the Paul Tobenkin Memorial Award, and the Mike Berger Award.
Media Contact for Dow Jones
Anthony Zurita
anthony.zurita@dowjones.com
Media Contact for Columbia Journalism School
Daniel Rivero
dr2260@columbia.edu