• by Ray Schultz , May 17, 2023

Dow Jones and Columbia Journalism School have teamed up to launch the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Media Collective. 

The program will provide newsroom and journalism school training on how to cover breaking news reporting of timely financial topics and incorporate diverse voices and perspectives in a news report.   

The goal is to “support journalism education, financial acumen and to build a strong pipeline of diverse talent for news organizations,” says  Jelani Cobb, dean of the Columbia Journalism School.  

Included in the inaugural cohort are nine emerging journalists hand-selected by deans or faculty from Dillard University, Howard University, Morehouse College, Morgan State University, Spelman College and Texas Southern University.

Participating students will be embedded in Dow Jones newsrooms from  May 19–27, 2023 to learn financial reporting skills and gain experience working alongside professional journalists and leaders at The Wall Street Journal, Barron's and MarketWatch in New York.

 “The HBCU Media Collective involves rigorous training and hands-on exposure to what an actual day in the life of a financial reporter looks like,” says David Cho, editor in chief of Barron’s.  

Dow Jones also offers such diversity and inclusion initiatives as: 

• Trust Fellows, an internal professional advancement program
• Lehman Journo-Tech Fellows, inccorporating data tools and nontraditional journalists into the news-gathering process.
• WSJ Finance Reporting Fellowships for early-career journalists. The next application season begins in September 2023
• Morgan State Business Journalism Exchange, an outreach program with an accredited course in investigative journalism. Fall semester 2023. 
• Year-round internship opportunities.