UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Midway through the semester, students in Penn State’s 400-level business reporting class have gained valuable experience in the field while honing their journalism skills in some real-world situations.
Andrew Cassel, a visiting professor who is teaching the class through a program funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation at Arizona State University, has been passing along his business journalism experience.
“We’re covering all of the basic areas that business journalism is involved in, from writing about companies and earnings to personal finance and the stock market and economic indicators,” said Cassel. “There is just a whole range of things involved in business writing. We’re dealing with each of those. We’ve broken it up into parts and we’re taking one part at a time.”
Cassel is teaching the course for one semester through the Reynolds Fund, helping to jumpstart a business journalism focus in the College of Communications. He brings a wealth of knowledge, previously serving as an editor for a website focused on macroeconomic data and analysis for Moody’s Analytics. From 1982 to 2007, Cassel worked as a columnist, business editor and reporter for the Miami Herald and The Philadelphia Inquirer. In addition to his business reporting course, Cassel also co-teaches a sports business course, collaborates with faculty across campus and is charged with establishing partnerships with regional media.
The students have worked on numerous assignments in the class. Most recently, the students wrote profiles about a variety of State College businesses, including cafes, barbershops, clothing boutiques and restaurants.
Cassel also led a stock market exercise where the class wrote a daily stock market wrap-up after interviewing Smeal College of Business students who manage the Nittany Lion Fund.
The goal of the course is to expose students to all types of business reporting. Cassel is confident business journalism has a future.
“Over the last 30 years, business news has established itself as having a pretty good niche, not just in newspapers but there are all kinds of websites that do a lot of reporting,” said Cassel. “There is a clear understanding when you’re writing about business that some people out there have a real professional need for information and information of all kinds. Whether it’s electronic or print or TV or radio or podcast or social media, somebody who can speak with authority and clarity about money matters is somebody who is going to be of value.”
Part of Cassel’s obligation with the course through the Reynolds Foundation is to work with local news outlets. Cassel has met with the Centre Daily Times and plans to pitch the students’ small business profiles to the newspaper as potential locally produced content.
Cassel was given free rein with the course, tasked to create a curriculum and syllabus. Cassel said it was a challenge because he has never taught before and because he had to get to know the students.
“They’re fun,” Cassel said. “It’s an interesting group. I like them. There is a range of abilities and a range of interests. It has been a big learning experience for me, probably more than for (the students).”
Joel Wee, a student in the class, has enjoyed the course so far. Wee, a junior journalism major from Singapore, took the class because he understood knowledge of business and business reporting would be beneficial to him as a journalist.
“Mr. Cassel is very approachable,” said Wee. “He’s nice. He gives good feedback. Teachers who are more approachable, you can learn more from them.
“I think it’s a very useful class. You have to step out of your comfort zone if you want to improve. This class really will make you step out of your comfort zone and work hard. In the process, you will learn something new.”