Four Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication students at the University of Georgia were recognized as Cox-SABEW Fellows during the launch of Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing’s fall workshop, #SkillUpSABEW, on October 14 at The Wall Street Journal headquarters in New York City.
Michael Banks, Jacqueline GaNun, Kate Hester and Lucinda Warnke (*pictured) mark the 10th class selected as part of a training program offered through the college’s Cox Institute for Journalism Innovation, Management and Leadership, in partnership with SABEW.
“The Cox-SABEW Fellowships were created to recognize students who have engaged in financial journalism and business education through class assignments, student media, and professional internships, or for those looking to launch their financial journalism journey,” said Dr. Keith Herndon, executive director of the Cox Institute.
Herndon, a former business journalist, said the program’s objectives are to explain financial journalism and introduce students to career opportunities in the field.
“SkillUp SABEW was a perfect workshop,” said Hester, a two-time Cox-SABEW Fellow recipient who’s in her second year of a master’s program. “In one afternoon, we learned about tangible skills in quick but impactful sessions, had one-on-one coaching with industry leaders and were able to make lasting connections in a relaxed networking environment.”
Banks, another two-time Cox-SABEW Fellow recipient, said the workshop was his first chance to meet journalism students from other universities. “It’s always a healthy change of perspective getting to learn about how other college newsrooms operate throughout the country and getting to meet impact-driven folks who will someday become my peers in the industry,” he added.
GaNun is a senior who hosts a Cox Institute-produced podcast, called The Lead, on how to get ahead in the news industry, told by the people who did.
Warnke, a junior journalism and English double major, is an enterprise reporter for The Red & Black, an independent student news organization.
The 2022 Fellows will participate in SABEW’s College Connect program, where they produce and publish personal finance stories for SABEW’s website. SABEW administers the College Connect program through a grant from the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE).
Additionally, the Fellows will engage in virtual discussion sessions with previous students in the program who are now professional financial journalists.
The Cox-SABEW Fellowship program started in 2013 and has recognized 57 participants, including this year’s fellows.
“SABEW continues to be one of our premier training partners and we are so appreciative of its support along with the grant from NEFE,” said Herndon. “The news industry faces many headwinds, but success by any measure requires training our next generation. This important industry-academic partnership is vital to that mission.”
* Picture from L-R: Jacqueline GaNun, Lucinda Warnke, Kate Hester and Michael Banks at the launch of SABEW’s #SkillUpSABEW fall workshop on October 14 at The Wall Street Journal headquarters in New York City.
