Professional Socialisation and Training of Business Reporters in Malawi: A Case Study of the Daily Times and the Nation Newspapers
Ellard Spencer Manjawira

Abstract
In the past few decades, the proportion of business news compared to general news has increased tremendously across all media platforms in Africa. While the critical role played by business journalism is recognised, little is known about the people who write and report such news. Most studies on business journalism have tended to focus on analysing the content of business news, rather than the specific processes through which business journalists are socialised and trained. The findings of this study are drawn mainly from in-depth interviews with business reporters and editors at two leading newspapers in Malawi, The Daily Times and The Nation. Two major findings emerge from the study data. First, business journalists vary in their educational and professional backgrounds, as well as the reasons for working on this beat. Second, the majority of them have no prerequisite formal education and training in business journalism. The study recommends that business reporting should become an integral component of journalism education and training programmes in order to adequately prepare journalists for effective coverage of business issues.

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