Financial Journalism
This course aims to provide working journalists with the skills and knowledge required to be an effective, critically thinking financial journalist.
Course coordinator: Gillian Jones
Email: [email protected]
Course codes: (SLLS4045A / JOMS4014A)
2026 information: First semester (3 February – 19 May), week-long intensive: 16 to 20 March, 9am to 1pm daily.
Thereafter Thursdays, 4-6pm from 24 March – 26 May 2026.
12th Floor Seminar Room
Course Overview
We are living in an increasingly complex world. More than ever, we need well-trained financial journalists able to think critically about the issues we face, to serve as watchdogs for the wider public and to make sense of complex events that shape our economies and livelihoods. Working on case studies and practical examples in class prepares journalists for the newsroom.
Projected Outcomes
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
• Think critically about financial and economic events and place them in their broader context
• Understand the basic principles and key concepts of finance and economics
• Communicate financial concepts in an accessible manner
• Report effectively on markets, statistics, companies and the economy
• Reflect on the role of the financial journalist in the wider society
• Draw on a diversity of sources to provide insights and information
Course Content
• Introduction to financial journalism
• Understanding the economy
• The bond, equities, commodities and money markets
• Listed companies and interpreting financial statements
• The South African Reserve Bank
• Writing about finance and the economy
• Government finances
• The regulatory environment
• Crypto currencies, blockchain and transitioning to cashless economies
• Climate finance