Sharon Jayson

Sharon Jayson, an internationally recognized journalist with a reputation as a clear, concise storyteller, will join the Global Business Journalism program at Tsinghua University as a visiting professor during the spring 2022 semester.

Jayson, who worked for USA Today as a reporter for 10 years, will teach Business News Reporting and Editing. She also will help write and edit stories for the program’s international website, GlobalBusinessJournalism.com.

“I am honored to join the Tsinghua faculty for this semester,” Jayson said. “I am excited to share my journalism skills with smart young journalists from around the world.”

A versatile journalist, she has worked in television as a producer and news anchor, in a radio as a reporter and newscast anchor and as a journalist in print and for the web. She has appeared as an expert analyst on NBC’s Today Show, CBS This Morning, CNN and MSNBC.

As a journalism educator and consultant, Jayson has trained professional journalists in sharpening skills and coached young colleagues. She is a past president of the Society of Professional Journalists, Austin chapter.

“Sharon Jayson is a skilled journalism practitioner with a passion for sharing her knowledge and experience with the next generation of journalists,” said Global Business Journalism program co-director Rick Dunham. “We are fortunate that she will share her expertise in survey data analysis, thorough reporting and dynamic writing with our GBJ students.”

Jayson is known for spotting social and economic trends. She is considered one of America’s premier reporters covering social and behavioral issues such as generational differences, aging, mental health, caregiving and retirement. She has demonstrated an exceptional ability to humanize trend stories by sharing the experiences of individuals, families and companies.

She was a key member of USA Today’s Generation Next project, which was a collaboration between USA Today and the U.S. Public Broadcasting System (PBS), National Public Radio (NPR), MacNeil/Lehrer Productions and renowned American journalist Judy Woodruff. The project produced a series of reports on the growing influence of the Millennial generation on 21st century society.

Jayson, a resident of Austin, Texas, is a graduate of the University of Texas. She is married to Ken Herman, a veteran political journalist who earned the Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Public Service for a small-town Texas newspaper. Both Jayson and Herman have previously spoken to Global Business Journalism students as guest lecturers on the Tsinghua campus. In recent years, Jayson has also spoken to classes and by remote video.