Herndon Receives Business Journalism Grant from Reynolds National Center

The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism has awarded Keith Herndon a visiting business journalism professorship at the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. The professorship is for the 2016 spring semester.

As part of the grant, Herndon will teach two courses related to business journalism and will work with professional media outlets on programs to enhance students’ educational experience. 

“Business journalism is an expanding area of news coverage and our students will benefit from training that specifically teaches how to tell these complicated stories well,” said Charles Davis, dean of the Grady College. “The Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism is at the forefront of delivering programs to extend business journalism education, and we are delighted to be part of this initiative in 2016.”

In addition to the Grady College, Reynolds also selected the University of North Texas to participate next year.  Both schools will receive $40,000 to contribute to the professor’s salary, plus an additional $10,000 grant to bring in visiting professionals to speak to students.

“Teaching our journalism students about the fundamentals of business news coverage is an exciting opportunity,” Herndon said. “Money is universal, which means the skills these students acquire through this training will better prepare them to cover stories about government, sports, entertainment and a wide range of other topics.”

Herndon, who is a 1982 graduate of the Grady College, has been a visiting professor at Grady College for three years and has taught as an adjunct professor at Kennesaw State University. His Grady College courses have included entrepreneurial journalism, journalism ethics, advanced reporting and managing news organizations. His professional career began as a Pulliam Fellow, covering business for The Indianapolis News. He was a business reporter at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution before becoming assistant business editor, deputy business editor and administrative editor. He also was a vice president in Cox Enterprises’ internet division before starting a media and technology consulting business.   Herndon holds a master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma and earned his Ph.D. in media and information from Australia’s Curtin University.

The Reynolds visiting professors program has created 12 business journalism professorships at 12 different schools since 2012. Karen Blumenthal will be the Reynolds Visiting Professor at the University of North Texas. The program is administered by the Reynolds Center at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

“The Reynolds visiting professor program has allowed universities across the country to introduce their students to the concepts needed to cover business topics,” said Peter Bhatia, director of the Reynolds Center. “It's never been more important for journalists to understand how money affects every story. Our new Reynolds professors will be helping their schools lead in this important area.”