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Berkeley Journalism + Berkeley Haas School of Business

Business Journalism

In today’s evolving media landscape, business journalism is more than numbers — it’s about telling compelling stories that reveal the complex economic forces shaping our world.

Berkeley Journalism and Berkeley Haas School of Business, with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, are collaborating on a new Certificate in Business Journalism program, which launched in 2024.

The certificate isn't just an academic credential: It's a practical training ground that prepares early career journalists to become sophisticated, nuanced business reporters.

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“We’re teaching students how to hold power accountable and usually power lies where the money rests — in the corporations that dominate our country."

— Berkeley Journalism Dean Geeta Anand

"In order to cover business, journalists need to understand how business operates and how money moves through the economy. And business leaders can benefit from having a deeper understanding of the media."

— Berkeley Haas Dean Ann E. Harrison

What will students learn?

Whether students take one Business Journalism course or pursue the Certificate in Business journalism, they will:

•Develop a robust understanding of complex business concepts, including: Economic indicators and market dynamics; corporate structures and financial mechanisms; technology's role in shaping economic narratives; and the interplay between business, politics, and social trends .

•Through carefully crafted coursework, students learn to: Research and interpret multifaceted business information; synthesize complex data into compelling, accessible stories; apply rigorous journalistic standards to business reporting; and understand the broader context of economic events.

•Through a groundbreaking partnership between Berkeley Journalism and Berkeley's Haas School of Business, students gain: Unprecedented access to nearly 30 Haas business courses and a dozen Berkeley journalism courses; one-on-one consultations with leading business journalists; use of Bloomberg Terminal software; and a daylong seminar at Bloomberg’s San Francisco bureau.

A young woman in a cap sits among others in an audience. Focus is on her face and she's slightly smiling.

“This course is a great course to dive into journalism applied to the business world. This gives us very specific tools so I would advise everyone who is envisioning a career as a business journalist to take this course, but also to prepare and to learn some business and market concepts to be able to write about it.”

— 2024 graduate student who took Tom Giles' course in spring 2024

Spring 2025 Course Offerings

J298 Business Journalism Capstone — The Bloomberg Way is a graduate-level, workshop-based course designed to provide students with the opportunity to produce a single, in-depth business journalism story of exceptional quality. Whether it’s a feature-length article, an investigative report, or a magazine-style piece, students will be guided through the process of crafting a high-caliber capstone project with accompanying media. Each week, the course offers tailored instruction and lessons that lead students through the stages of developing their complex story. Additional individualized guidance will be provided, adapting to the specific nature and focus of the stories being developed.

Course lecturer:

Matthew Winkler is editor-in-chief emeritus of Bloomberg News, the global news organization of 2,900 he founded with Michael Bloomberg in 1990 when he became its first employee and leader for 25 years. Winkler created the Bloomberg Journalism Diversity Program in 2015, an international partnership with universities conceived to inspire careers in all aspects of economic reporting among students of color. Winkler also is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion and convenes news makers in business, financial markets and governments worldwide for Bloomberg L.P.

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J230 Introduction to Business Journalism

Foundational course on how to cover a broad range of business topics, from IPOs and market swings to employment gains and trade flows. Learn how the likes of Apple and Google go from startup to global giants that influence the lives of billions. The course draws on timed in-class assignments to sharpen writing and analytical skills and provide a realistic sense of the demands of a fast-paced newsroom. Reading assignments include the best of business writing, and visiting journalists will share what it’s like to work for the region’s foremost publications.

Course Lecturer:

Tom Giles is an award-winning editor, reporter and manager of teams of journalists, with more than 25 years of newsroom experience in San Francisco, New York and London, focusing primarily on global technology. His work spans a broad range of tech topics for Bloomberg News and BusinessWeek—from startups and venture capital to the world’s largest and most powerful tech providers, including Apple, Amazon, Google and Meta. Giles is currently executive editor of global technology for Bloomberg, based in San Francisco, where he helps manage more than 60 reporters and editors responsible for the technology, media and entertainment industries in the US and Europe.