MU Director Trains Journalists to Cover Business Beat

Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil coached journalists in an intensive workshop on the complexities of business, economics, companies and markets in a bid to shore up their coverage of that beat.

 

Updating a commodities story

The three-day training for Arab News reporters and editors in February 2021 steered them through the intricacies of the business beat and how to get their start in financial journalism with plenty of tips on working with numbers.

On the second day, Abu-Fadil focused on ethics for business journalists and the risks of falling prey to conflicts of interest.

 

What is economics?

Other areas included common reporting mistakes to avoid, the terminology needed to write business and economic stories and how to develop good sources.

On the final day, the trainees were introduced to analyzing profits, assets and liabilities, how to dissect financial statements, corporate earnings and differentiating between different types of financial markets.

 

The corporate success, failure and success of the Twinkies brand

A key theme was how to simplify the topic for interested lay readers.