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September 2003
Supply, Demand & Deadlines 2003
Diamonds in the rough: Making a story shine
Kathy Cobb
Managing Editor
What makes a jewel sparkle is the multiple facets of the stone—the
same holds true for a well-written news story. Nearly every business,
political or public policy issue is multifaceted, and it's the job
of the journalist to explore and understand all aspects of an issue
and the consequences of actions that may be taken.
To learn how to use economics sources, understand and analyze economic
data, and think critically about economic issues are among the reasons
28 journalists from across the nation and around the globe met in
mid-June in Minneapolis for Supply, Demand & Deadlines. The
annual three-day workshop was sponsored jointly by the Minnesota
Journalism Center, School of Journalism and Mass Communication,
at the University of Minnesota and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
and planned and staffed by experienced business writers and economists.
The ongoing goal of the workshop, now in its third year, is to provide
reporters, editors and producers from a variety of media with some
economic principles and insight to help them analyze the economic
impact of business, political and public policy issues in their
communities.
Though intended primarily for Upper Midwest journalists, this year's
workshop had much broader participation, with media representatives
from Uganda and The Gambia, the San Diego Business Journal,
the Associated Press, Reuters and PBS's News Hour.
Minneapolis Fed President Gary Stern opened the workshop with a discussion
of deflation, which gave participants a relevant issue to ponder overnight,
and provided insight into how economists and policymakers analyze economic
phenomena.
Participants then heard about the complex issues facing the global economy
from Anne Krueger, first deputy managing director of the International
Monetary Fund, who delivered the keynote address.
And Russell Cooper, professor of economics at the University of Texas,
followed with a session on the principles of economic
thinking.
After listening to economists, participants started to connect theory
to practice. Washington Post economics columnist John Berry took
Cooper's presentation one step further and offered a journalist's perspective
on writing about the economy. His session laid the groundwork for participants'
culminating activity. Each journalist wrote a story proposal on rising
health care costs, which was then critiqued by workshop journalism and
economics faculty—the final step in polishing the jewel.
See one attendee's perspective
on the conference, in a column in North-Western Financial Review, in which journalist Justin Dullum reflects on what
he learned about economics, journalism and the tough questions that confront
economics reporters from other lands. “[Dean] Mulumba [of Uganda]
knows his fair share about 'no free lunch,'” writes Dullum. “His
job isn't only to ask 'who's paying for lunch?' but also 'did anyone even
bring lunch?'”
Click to learn more about Supply,
Demand & Deadlines, from the School of Journalism, University
of Minnesota.
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