We Mean Business

Online shopping has brought about the slow demise of traditional retail, with many consumers relying solely on sites to shop for everything from groceries to electronics. In this episode, Ananya Bhargava interviews Zuzanna Blasco, a lead UX/UI engineer for Newfold Digital and a faculty associate who teaches e-commerce classes at Arizona State University. Blasco analyzes the impact of e-commerce on...

As our reliance on technology and data systems grows, so do the avenues through which corporations can harvest our information. In this episode, Ananya Bhargava interviews Joseph Ryoo , an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Arizona State University and expert in unstructured data analysis. Dr. Ryoo describes the techniques businesses use to collect and utilize data, the differences between what i...

As we witness the rising significance of data and the increasing use of AI to optimize personalized advertising, concerns regarding data acquisition and ethical usage become increasingly pressing. In this episode, Ananya Bhargava interviews Seth Rachlin, a social scientist, business leader, and entrepreneur currently active as a researcher and assistant teaching professor of Social Data Science at...

SAG-AFTRA is still striking against the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers - movie studios, big streaming corporations, etc.) even as the writer's union has reached its own agreement with the studios this week. In this episode, Mackenzie Joy-Brennan talked to SAG member Marie Cecile Anderson -- an actor, comedian, and musician based in Nashville -- about the strike decision...

As the entertainment industry strikes continue, Mackenzie Joy-Brennan has a chat with Hollywood costume designer Nicole Suerez Jones whose local IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) unions aren't on strike, but are still suffering the effects of the current dual strikes in Hollywood. Nicole talks studio executive greed, working conditions, artificial intelligence, and what...

The Phoenix Valley was packed with visitors for Super Bowl LVII, but does a packed city equal extra economic activity? Janaé Bradford interviews Kelly Phillips Erb, an expert on tax law who has written for and been interviewed by a variety of media outlets. She is currently a tax contributor for Forbes and a Tax Counsel for White & Williams, LLP . Phillips Erb breaks down how local taxpayers contr...

When is it okay to start talking about the financial cost of a game not played? Steven Watkins, a reporter for the Cincinnati Business Courier, was reporting on the Bengals/Bills game live when Damar Hamlin was struck in the chest and halted the NFL. Watkins shares with Janaé Bradford how he reacted as a journalist who covers the business of sports at a local business journal. Watkins has decades...

Ever wonder what it is like covering the biggest college football game of the season? Janaé Bradford invited Amanda Christovich from FrontOffice Sports to speak with her about her experience covering the business of the big game. Covering college football isn’t just about covering the X’s and O’s. College football has become an enterprise in itself that reporters should not shy away from covering....

Janaé Bradford interviews Bloomberg reporters Caleb Melby and Polly Mosendz, two members of the bronze award-winning team for their investigation 'Questionable Practices.' Their investigation brings the first important revelations about the largest medical mental-health startup, Cerebral, and its effort to bring telemedicine techniques to mental healthcare. Bloomberg reporters found a lack of deli...

For her last episode, Ruby interviews Jeff Timmermans, Director of the Reynolds Center. Ruby asks poignant questions about what is needed from students looking to get into business journalism and why students should consider the field. Jeff shares with us the importance of business journalism and how you don't need a finance background to report on and cover the business beat.

Ruby interviews Kristen Gilger, co-author of 'There's no crying in newsrooms,' on what it was like as a woman in broadcast journalism in the 1980s compared to today. Kristen shares insights on how her expectations and hope of greater equity have unfortunately not matched up with reality and reminds women in the business to remember that they are never alone.

Numbers are the language of the world. Ruby interviews Steve Doig, experienced data journalist and current ASU professor, on how working with data can be a business journalist's superpower. Steve discusses how understanding data tools for smaller stories can prepare you for bigger stories that happen near you or in your beat.

Ruby Arora interviews Todd Merkow, first general manager of FOX Sports Arizona and current strategic and operational consultant who also teaches sports journalism majors at the Cronkite School of Journalism. Ruby and Todd discuss Amazon emerging into NFL streaming and what journalists should be aware of and what to look out for in the future of sports streaming.

Ruby Arora interviews Susan Lisovicz, long-time CNN and CNBC on-air reporter, on how journalists can prepare to be on camera and why business journalism is such an important field for all journalists to understand.    Stay tuned for the rest of this 5-part series this summer.

In this episode, host Jenna Miller speaks with Los Angeles Times reporter Harriet Ryan and editor Matt Lait, to discuss their award-winning investigation, “ Oxycontin's 12-hour Problem .” The two reveal how doctors were not only were many doctors being investigated for overprescribing a drug, they were often linked to bad pharmacies that lacked state oversight. The pair share some tips for young j...

Christopher Weaver of the Wall Street Journal spoke with Jenna Miller of the Reynolds Center to discuss his work with the award-winning investigation, “ Testing Theranos .” This project took home the Silver Award at the 2016 Barlett and Steele Awards for Investigative Journalism. Weaver explains how the 10-month investigation began and the challenges they faced questioning a company that had becom...

Bastian Obermayer of the Munich based paper Süddeutsche Zeitung and Gerard Ryle, Director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, spoke with Jenna Miller to discuss their work on the award-winning “ Panama Papers .” Their organizations, along with more than 100 other media partners, took home the Gold Award at the 2016 Barlett and Steele Awards for Investigative Journalism. T...

In this episode, hosted by Jenna Miller , Business journalism professors Karen Blumenthal, Andrew Cassel and Keith Herndon share their tips for engaging students in class. These instructors explain the creative way they encourage students to interact with businesses they don’t already have a connection to and the importance of reading other business stories, especially in their own communities. Th...

The How to Cover Money podcast is back with Jenna Miller as this episode’s host. W.P. Carey School of Business professor Philip Drake and Bloomberg's Tom Contiliano introduce business reporters to the art of reading financial statements. They share some of their tips for using those statements to investigate a company’s performance, past transactions, and cash flow to understand how well a company...

In this episode, hosted by Megan Calcote , Brandon Quester and Evan Wyloge of the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting share their tips for finding and using census data. Wyloge and Quester share their experiences searching through large datasets and what they have found to be more useful to drill down the numbers to your local area. They also share the websites and reports they find to be t...

In this episode, hosted by Megan Calcote , Katherine Fitzgerald and Eddie Keller interview Robin McDowell and Martha Mendoza of the Associated Press about their 2015 Barlett and Steele Gold award-winning investigation “ Fish Slavery .” McDowell and Mendoza explain what sparked this investigation, some of the decisions they had to make to protect their sources before publication, and what it took t...

In this episode, host Megan Calcote highlights some of the best tips from the Reynolds Center presentation at SABEW 2015 with University of Michigan economist Donald Grimes. Grimes highlights the importance of regional data in national data series and where some of the best data sets are located. He explains how some of the surveys work and recommends when is the best time to look at those data se...

In this episode, Katherine Fitzgerlad and Eddie Keller interview Christopher Serres and Glenn Howatt of the Minneapolis Star Tribune about their award-winning investigation “ Unchecked Care .” Their investigation exposed issues in the home care industry, including inadequate care, inadequate training for aides, and aggressive sales tactics by for-profit franchises. Serres and Keller give advice to...

In this podcast hosted by Megan Calcote , Glenn Hall, Executive Editor at the Washington Post, shares more tips for creating winning business investigations. He urges writers to break up long-form articles into short, easily digested pieces; beware the extreme anecdote; and employ videos, graphics and slideshows. Hall's tips were originally shared during Reynolds Week 2016.

In this episode, host Megan Calcote shares a conversation Katherine Fitzgerald and Eddie Keller had with Pat Beall of The Palm Beach Post. Her award-winning investigation, Dying for Care , won the 2015 Bronze Award in the Barlett and Steele Awards for the best in investigative business journalism. Beall shares some of her advice for young journalists, what sparked this investigation, and why she e...