Responsibility Accompanies Personal Finance Beat

»San Jose Mercury News: Former CEO, two others charged in options scandal

*Prosecutors allege ex-Brocade Communications executives manipulated stock options during height of tech boom.

»Charlotte Observer: Google search for new site focuses on N.C.

*Prospect of cheap power keeps North Carolina county in running to land Internet giant’s planned $1B computer center.

»Des Moines Register: Whirlpool to add 400 jobs

*Following decision to close former Maytag headquarters, Iowa secures a small victory with addition of jobs at refrigeration plant.

»Just over a month after his fraud and conspiracy conviction, the death of Enron founder Ken Lay led to many emotions and questions for business reporters to address, Managing Editor Kevin Sweeney reports.

"As the shock subsided from news of the death of Enron founder Kenneth Lay this week, business reporters had a myriad of angles to explore for their readerships." »More

»Business reporters hit home with coverage of their respective real estate markets, writing coach Dick Weiss reports in the latest edition of Dick's Picks. "When it comes to reader friendly stories, there’s no place like home. Each of my picks touches on home buying in very different ways..." Weiss says. »More

Click here to send Weiss an e-mail with some great business stories you've written or seen.

»The impact of Sarbanes-Oxley has a broad reach beyond public companies. James Gentry of the University of Kansas School of Journalism says private companies and non-profits are also feeling the effects of the regulation.

"The impact of Sarbanes-Oxley on organizations such as nonprofits, private companies and governments has received very little attention from the business press. Numerous stories are sitting there, waiting to be written," Gentry says. »More

Registration for the third cycle of Reynolds Center workshops on "The Craft of Business Writing" is now available! This program covers how to better explain financial terms, use a compelling narrative style, develop story ideas and write effective profiles.

September cities include Miami, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, N.C. and Oklahoma City. The program will move to Milwaukee in October. Select workshop and register below! »More

The Reynolds Center will be holding a free daylong workshop on "Covering Private Companies and Non-Profits" on Oct. 6 in New York. Select workshop and register below.

The Center will also be holding a half-day workshop at the Native American Journalists Association convention in August. Click on the links in the drop-down menu for more information.

The Reynolds Center has launched free self-paced tutorials for business journalists to learn various concepts at their convenience. These tutorials feature questions throughout and a final quiz to test knowledge of the subject.

Topics for these tutorials include: Using Numbers Effectively, SEC Filings, Covering Financial Markets, Understanding Financial Statements and Covering the Economy. Click here to access the tutorials!

The BusinessJournalism.org fall schedule of free online seminars is now available. These seminars give reporters the ability to learn various aspects of business journalism through their computers.

Click here to view seminar topics and register!

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Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism