“The great thing about these jobs is that they’re primo beats at a paper that takes business journalism seriously,” Duchesne Paul Drew, Managing Editor for Operations said explaining how he believes the positions will be pretty competitive. “It’s not an afterthought, it’s at the heart of who we are.”

Details on each are on the paper’s jobs site – Star Tribune employment opportunities.  Or individually: 

Business columnist.  The ad for this job reads:

The Star Tribune is seeking a dynamic, thoughtful business columnist to provide a leading voice in the Twin Cities community.
The business columnist should have the heartbeat of a reporter, building each column on a foundation of astute research. The columnist will produce columns that our tough-minded and fair. We need an authoritative voice that will deliver insight on a consistent basis.
We celebrate the column that is pegged to news events and seek a writer whose point of view will be anything but predictable. The business columnist should expect to write two to three columns a week and engage the community online as well, possibly through a blog, online chats, Twitter and other outlets.

Minnesota economy reporter. The ad for this job reads:

We are looking for an experienced business reporter to produce high-impact stories about the economy.
In the aftermath of the Great Recession, the economy has become one of the most provocative and important beats for any news organization. We want someone who will think broadly and explore a full range of stories – from employment and inflation to international trade to corporate affairs to consumer behavior.
This is not a beat for rookies or for those who shy away from the big stage. We’re looking for someone who can develop sharp, intuitive reporting on major trends in the Minnesota economy. Candidates should be fluent in basic economic concepts and comfortable with data-driven reporting. The reporter will be expected to produce a full range of coverage – both online and in print – and to embrace opportunities to collaborate with other reporters.

“We’ve expanded our commitment to business journalism at a time when many media organizations have cut back,” Drew said. “We have almost 20 writers in the section, which means we offer our readers range and depth. We didn’t lose our institutional knowledge as our industry and company contracted in recent years. We have a good mix of folks who’ve been here more than 20 years as well as a number of folks who’ve been here less than three years. For both of these positions, having 20 Fortune 500 companies that cross a range of sectors means they won’t struggle to find interesting and important story targets. And, it’s a really good place to live and work.”

Star Tribune reporters Chris Serres and Glenn Howatt won a 2011 Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism for their 2010 series “Hounded – Debtors and the New Breed of Collectors.” Star Tribune series wins Loeb award

And the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) judges selected the Tribune’s business staff for a General Excellence award in its Best in Business 2011 competition.

If you have questions about these jobs, call Duchesne Drew, managing editor for operations/recruitment, at 612-673-7111 or email him at ddrew@startribune.com. He asks that you DO NOT email him your application. Details about applying are on the jobs site:  Economy reporter  |   Business columnist. 

The David Dietz Fellowship, an award honoring David Dietz a longtime IRE supporter and former board member, will provide a stipend to attend the organization’s annual conference in June and a year-long mentorship with a veteran investigative journalist.

The IRE conference will be held in Boston on June 14-17. Applicants must have less than 10 years experience as a professional journalist. Details to apply are on IRE’s website.

David Dietz

Dietz is a former Bloomberg Markets reporter who passed away from cancer last June. A Columbia Journalism Review article highlighted one of Dietz most notable investigations, “Broken Promises,” which it dubbed a “staggering scandal.” Dietz, along with Bloomberg’s William Selway, Martin Z. Braun, examined $7 million in tax-exempt bond deals that generated millions in fees and investment gains. An exhaustive reporting effort revealed that taxpayers received no benefit. (Here’s more background on Dietz’s impressive journalism career.)

IRE also offers a myriad of other fellowship opportunities open to all experience levels. You can find more details and instruction on how to apply at IRE’s fellowship/scholarship page. 

Ignites is looking for someone with some experience covering financial services, but editors say they will consider journalists with a demonstrated ability to identify news trends and write compelling copy on complex subjects for a sophisticated readership.

They are looking for an insightful reporter who can localize broad national and global stories and tease out angles relevant to our target audience.

Ignites covers the mutual fund industry for an industry audience. The job is based in Manhatta, but travel outside of New York to cover industry conferences and interviews is required.

Ignites is an online daily published by Money-Media, a Financial Times company. Send resume, cover letter and clips ignitesjobs@ignites.com

Interested in applying? Here are the fellowships eligibility parameters.

• Open to U.S. journalists with five years of experience.
• U.S. citizens or work full time in the U.S. or from a U.S. based organization.
• No minimum or maximum age limit and freelancers and staff journalists are encouraged to apply.
• An application, work samples and a recommendation letter are needed.
• Applicants are required to write 800-word proposals.
• Proposals will outline a topic they’ll cover in a country outside of the U.S.

Among the selection criteria is the preference for applicants to propose, in their essay, fresh material and to avoid suggesting stories that deal with ongoing projects or  topics covered in the past.

Map of IRP reporting around the world.

Journalists selected will spend time in Washington D.C. at the IRP offices for an orientation and then will cover a topic in the country of their choice for five weeks.

Five fellowships have already been awarded to U.S journalists reporting on global health topics like water related diseases, HIV/AIDS, and new scientific research.  These IRP Fellows will start mid-February and go through mid-April 2012.

Work produced by IRP Fellows will be featured on the organization’s website and also in the news outlets where they work.  Freelancers will work with IRP staff  to have their work from the fellowship placed.

Applications for the fall program are due April 2. For complete details, visit IRP’s website.

Forty-two percent reported an increase in pay the past 2 years. That is up from 36 percent six months ago reporting an increase in pay.

“Opportunities among journalists do seem to be on the rise,” said Andrew Leckey, president of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center of Business Journalism, about the survey results. “They said that one-third of the newsrooms in which they work are hiring new journalists.”

The median base annual salary for business journalists surveyed is $56,591, a slight increase from $56,220 for 2010-11.

Reynolds Center research 2012:
What Business Journalists Think about their Local Economy (PDF) | Slideshow: Research questions and results (PDF) | Business journalists survey 2012: Bullish about economic future

The research also found this breakdown for median annual salaries by place of employment:

• Print: $49,375
• Broadcast: $56,852
• Wire service: $75,800
• Freelance: $48,889
• Online: $51,667

Other findings include:

• 69 percent of the 300 journalists surveyed said they believe the number of business journalists will remain the same over the next six months.
• 32 percent said their newsroom is currently hiring full-time journalists.

Cars.com, which is based in Chicago, is looking for a news editor to join the editorial staff who also is able to write original stories and reviews about cars and is also adept at web journalism skills.

The position is as News Editor for for KickingTires, the news channel for Cars.com.

Ideally, the successful candidate will have or be able to cultivate sources in the auto industry, according to David Thomas, Cars.com managing editor.

“You don’t need to know how to change your own oil, but you can explain the differences between a new BMW 528 and BMW 535 to a car shopper,” Thomas said.

Thomas said he needs someone with news and online background and definitely experience in the auto field. He stressed that Cars.com has roots in newspapers and its editorial team is composed of news vets.

From the full job description and application details Editor, Cars.com:

“There will be regular posts recapping news and new product as well as editing other writers and freelancers. We need an editor who is a self-starter and a collaborator: We need someone who knows what’s news, but who can work with his or her editor to shape overall coverage and tone. We need a writer and editor with a clear voice, not just a regurgitator. Of course, we value consumer value, accuracy and timeliness above all else.”

Among the responsibilities:

• Writing and editing daily posts, some aggregation, some original reporting, on the auto industry and product, with a sharp focus on how those events and people are going to affect car shoppers
• Set an engaging tone for coverage, making sure that reports for KickingTires are accurate, nimble and engaging.
• Will either have — or be able to cultivate — a strong network of sources in the industry.
• Travel is necessary for this job. This editor/reviewer will attend major auto shows when appropriate and other events as needed.
• Be comfortable being interviewed by other media outlets (including TV) on breaking industry developments, based on the reporter/reviewer’s analysis of the industry.
• Occasionally manage freelancers on how they’re performing their tasks.
• Drive editorial excellence as part of a team that ensures Cars.com publishes and maintains the most relevant, accurate and current consumer-facing automotive content.
• Be proficient in using web-publishing tools and blog software as well as HTML-editing software and a Content Management System to enter and publish online content. Photoshop skills a plus.

Cars.com is the second largest automotive classified site, second to only Autotrader.com.

Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures, which is in turn a joint venture by major media companies including the Gannett Company, the McClatchy Company, the Washington Post Company, the Tribune Company, and Belo. Its headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois.

Susan Lisovicz, CNN’s longtime Wall Street correspondent, was the second Reynolds Visiting Business Journalism Professor at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The Reynolds program will send visiting professors to four additional schools in 2012.

Journalism programs at Colorado State University, Grambling State University, Texas Christian University and the University of South Carolina will be the first schools to receive visiting business journalism professors next spring under a $1.67 million grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation.

The five-year program will ultimately create 11 visiting professorships at 11 different schools. It is administered through the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

“We are pleased with the first four schools selected to participate in the Reynolds Visiting Business Journalism Professor Program,” said Steve Anderson, president of the Reynolds Foundation. “These four schools will form the nucleus of a much larger group of institutions that will be selected annually over the next five years. The program’s goal is to select institutions that will commit long-term to the teaching of principles and skills necessary to train business journalists in what we believe is an increasingly important field of journalism.”

The new Reynolds Visiting Professorships are modeled on successful programs at Washington and Lee University and the Cronkite School. The Reynolds Center also has sponsored a weeklong training seminar for prospective business journalism professors for the past five years.

The professorships will enable students at the four universities to get valuable training in a specialized and increasingly critical area of journalism, said Andrew Leckey, president of the Reynolds Center and the Reynolds Chair in Business Journalism at the Cronkite School.

In 2010, former New York Times reporter Leslie Wayne was the first Reynolds Visiting Business Journalism Professor at Arizona State University's Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

“These four journalism programs displayed remarkably thoughtful and ambitious strategies for both their current and their future business journalism education initiatives,” Leckey said. “In addition, the large number of excellent applications received assures us that other outstanding schools stand ready for the future visiting professorships of this five-year program.”

Besides teaching courses in business journalism, visiting professors will help establish partnerships with local business media and contribute to BusinessJournalism.org and Reynolds Center Webinars, which provide resources and training enabling professional business journalists to excel at their craft. The schools, which also are eligible for funding for business journalism internships, will provide space as well as technical and administrative support for the professors.

How to apply for future visiting professorships

Three more universities will be selected next year for the spring 2013 term.

• Prospective universities can apply at BusinessJournalism.org.
• Prospective visiting business journalism professors can also apply online.

What officials at the initial schools had to say

• “Students can only benefit by learning how to report on business and economics….This will provide yet another advantage when they seek employment.” – Greg Luft, professor and chair of the Colorado State University Journalism and Technical Communication Department.

• “There is no doubt that the Visiting Professor program will help boost the enrollment in our business journalism concentration.” – Rama M. Tunuguntla, interim dean of Grambling‘s College of Professional Studies.

• “You need look no further than the economy being the No. 1 issue in national politics to recognize that instruction in business journalism is critical to the mission of journalism programs and the training of the journalists of the future.” – John Lumpkin, director of TCU’s Schieffer School of Journalism.

• “Our students and future journalists, whether they are writing for the front page, the sports page or the style page, need to understand and explain the underlying business interests.” – Charles Bierbauer, dean of the University of South Carolina College of Mass Communications and Information Studies.

About the Reynolds Center

Since 2003, more than 10,000 journalists have learned to cover business better through free training from the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism. The center is at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University’s Phoenix campus. The center offers regional workshops and Webinars, as well as daily tips at BusinessJournalism.org.

It 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 is one of the largest private foundations in the United States.

The Bulletin is a 34,000 circulation daily and the business desk produces a daily section and a weekly themed section “Green, Etc.” which focuses on technology and green energy in Oregon.

Warner says the idea candidate would have at least three years experience in business writing, with a particular focus on technology and business start-ups or the intersection between business government. She’d like someone experienced enough to tackle diverse topics in a community with growing technology and health sectors, but still suffering from a decline in housing and high unemployment. Top stories on the business page online today include a mix of local and national topics. Here’s a link to The Bulletin daily newspaper.

Desired qualifications include: Understanding of business principles with the ability to read and analyze corporate financial documents, ability to write on deadline, and a keen eye for investigative and analytical business stories that will serve the readers of Bend. Multimedia experience a plus.
The Bulletin is an independent, family-owned newspaper in Bend, a vibrant city surrounded by snow-capped mountains and stellar outdoor recreation. The Bulletin is an equal opportunity employer. Employment is contingent on passing a drug test.

If you’re interested, send a resume and clips to: Marielle Gallagher, Newsroom Administrator, The Bulletin, P.O. Box 6020, Bend, OR 97701. Or by email to MGallagher@bendbulletin.com.

And for a look at more business journalism jobs, check out our Jobs Page.

Compliance Week

The staff writer will maintain a daily blog on securities regulation, write six to ten longer articles per month (mostly shorter form, none longer than 3,000 words), and update one or two online databases either daily or weekly as necessary (this will be a small part of the job).

The writer’s primary beat will be securities regulation, including enforcement actions or rulemaking and implementation by various regulatory agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission. A secondary beat will be shareholder activism and board-shareholder relations, and other stories may be assigned to the writer on an as-needed basis.

The ideal candidate will have a proven ability to develop a beat: cultivate sources, track news developments, and identify trends suitable for enterprise reporting or special research projects. Compliance Week follows complex business topics, so candidates must be able to monitor multiple pieces of business news, see how they inter-relate, and assemble those multiple pieces into larger feature articles that put the news in relevant context for our readers.

This is a mid-level reporting job. Candidates should have at least six years of experience at a daily newspaper or website, at least three of them on a business beat. Candidates do not need experience reporting on securities regulation per se, but those with a demonstrated knowledge of the subject will receive priority.

To apply send your packet to editor@complianceweek.com.

The Fiscal Times

Candidates “should have strong analytical and reporting skills with a good instincts for trends in business,” according to Channel Manager Nick Bhardwaj. “We offer very competitive compensation on a per-piece basis.”

The Fiscal Times is based in New York City, but the freelancer can work remotely.

The Fiscal Times, which launched its website in February 2010,  covers economic issues, with an emphasis on fiscal policy.  It is owned and funded by Peter G. Peterson, a billionaire investment banker who advocates deficit reduction.

The Fiscal Times, which lists several journalists with experience at prominent news organizations as its columnists, analysts and bloggers, says on its website that it is nonpartisan and editorially independent.

To apply, send your resume to NBhardwaj@thefiscaltimes.org.