2006 Press Releases
Margie Freaney, former editor of the Baltimore Business Journal and former executive editor of the Atlanta Business Chronicle visited Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk as a U.S.Government Speaker (October 2-11)
October 11, 2006
Margie Freaney held a workshop on business reporting for working editors of independent business weeklies. 16 participants came from Yekaterinburg, Krasnoyarsk, Samara, Nizhniy Novogorod, Chelyabinsk and Rostov-on-Don. The seminar was hosted by AbakPress, Yekaterinburg's independent publisher and founder of the Association of Russia's Independent Regional Publishers and PAS Yekaterinburg. The seminars were built around case-studies and problem solving with group activities. Ms Freaney coached the editors into an honest and open discussion of their major problems with staff and ownership and government structures.
Margie Freaney led a three-day seminar at the school of journalism at Chelyabinsk State University. Her audience was a group of 18 highly motivated fourth year students, some of whom already work in Chelyabinsk media. She concentrated on methods and resources for covering important business and economic stories in the specific country and the region. She gave her students a good understanding of key economic indicators, what they mean, and how to write about them. Margie Freaney’s seminar received a high marks from the students. They commented that she set high working standards for them as professional reporters.
Ms. Freaney lectured at the school of journalism at Urals State University. Her audience included 30 faculty and fourth year students of the International Reporting Department. She emphasized the importance of business reporting and how it has changed, considering the global nature of the economy and the rise of a consumer society.
U.S. Speaker Margie Freaney conducted a three-day seminar at the Yekaterinburg Humanitarian University. The course was designed to equip the students with the skills necessary to better understand and cover the region’s businesses and economy. Topics included: reading and interpreting financial documents, and how to present a story that is understandable to the average reader. She gave her students practical advice on how to develop sources to cover business stories as well as practical tips on interviewing techniques for business stories.
