Chris Roush, a distinguished American journalism professor and author of two prominent business journalism textbooks, told Tsinghua students on Dec. 2 that the future of business journalism is bright, despite the economic woes gripping much of the news industry.

“If you can write about business and the economy, then they’re really interested in you,” he told 45 students in the Global Business Journalism Program at the Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication.

Roush, a former reporter for Bloomberg News, Business Week and other U.S. publications, said there is a worldwide demand for young journalists who can explain complex economic topics “in a coherent way so that people can understand.” He told the students from more than a dozen countries enrolled in Professor Rick Dunham’s Multimedia Business Reporting class that their ability to tell journalism stories in multiple languages and on multiple media platforms would make them a valuable asset to news organizations in China and around the world.

“Your language skills are a big deal,” he said.

Unlike the students he was addressing, Roush said he had not planned to be a business journalist.

“After grad school, I needed a job,” he told the students. “The first job I found was as a business reporter in Florida.”

The University of Florida M.A. graduate quickly made a name for himself and was recruited by a larger Florida newspaper. After distinguishing himself with his coverage of the deadly Hurricane Andrew in 1992, he was recruited by Business Week, the nation’s top weekly business news magazine. He later covered Coca Cola for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Bloomberg News before working for a business journalism start-up. His next stop was academia, as a professor at Washington and Lee University and then at the University of North Carolina.

At UNC, Roush has created a major in business journalism and runs a website called TalkingBizNews.com. He is the author of "Show Me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" (2010) and "Profits and Losses: Business Journalism and its Role in Society" (2011). He is the co-author of "The Society of American Business Editors and Writers’ Stylebook: 2,000 Business Terms Defined and Rated" (2012). He also has created the websites collegebizjournalism.org and bizjournalismhistory.org.

Like Tsinghua’s Global Business Journalism Program, Roush’s program at UNC has been very successful at placing its graduates at top media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, Reuters, the Financial Times, CNBC, MarketWatch, BuzzFeed and Business Insider.

Roush advised the GBJ students to “find an area or topic where you are the expert” and practice their news writing.

“I really believe the best way to become a good writer is to write a lot,” he said. “Write one story a week.”

Roush said it was important for young journalists to bring both practical skills and a positive attitude to their jobs.

“No matter what you are passionate about, if you are good at it, good things will come your way,” he said.