Financial Media Institute 2009

Hong Kong Baptist University hosted USCET’s third Financial Media Institute in 2009, bringing together a very strong group of students and practicing journalists from across Greater China. During the week-long program, 38 students and seven practicing journalists heard from 13 members of the FMI faculty. At the program’s conclusion participants were awarded a certificate endorsed by organizers Fudan University, Hong Kong Baptist University, and the University of Maryland Philip Merrill School of Journalism.

Participants felt that this year’s FMI made a lasting impression in their understanding of media coverage of economics and business affairs. The FMI took place in the midst of a recession that has had a particularly deep impact on the financial sector, and journalists have been pressed more than ever to keep up with the rapidly evolving financial landscape.

Themes addressed at the 2009 Institute included the importance of objectivity and transparency in financial reporting; fundamentals of economics and business; and key techniques for effective business reporting. The first presentation, by The Economist Asia Business Editor Thomas Easton, on “What Business Reporters Need to Know About the Stock Market,” detailed how The Economist has made difficult judgment calls in reporting on specific companies and their activities. Another presentation by the Director of Tsinghua University’s Global Business Journalism Program Nailing Zhou, entitled “Different Challenges in Reporting in China and Overseas,” brought these comments directly into the Chinese context and addressed the tough questions that sometimes arise in coverage of business in China.

A presentation by Gregg Fields, Resident Fellow at Tsinghua University and Member of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service-winning reporting team, offered practical suggestions on how a journalist must to pursue their craft in order to have social impact. In addition, Carlos Tejada, Hong Kong Deputy Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal, presented on “Essential Ingredients for A Successful Business Story and A WSJ Business Feature.” His presentation brought the practical advice of other speakers into the context of the Wall Street Journal, the world’s bellweather business daily.

Finally, the context of Hong Kong (and Shanghai) was addressed in presentations by Joseph Lee, Senior Manager of External Relations at Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission; Yang Yanqing, Managing Editor of China Business Network (Shanghai); and Stephen Cheung, Dean of the Business School of Hong Kong Baptist University. These and other presenters invited students to participate in highly interactive Q&A sessions.

Participants also benefitted from field trips to the South China Morning Post and Now TV. USCET is grateful to HKBU for its outstanding stewardship of the FMI in 2009 and the strong organizational effort by its team under the leadership of Deputy Dean Huang Yu and Professor and FMI Director Victor Fung.