Starting out on the business beat might feel daunting, but there are ways to quickly educate yourself. Veteran biz reporters in your newsroom can be a goldmine for tips and tactics. Here, Diana Henriques, a veteran financial investigative reporter for The New York Times, offers her advice.

Downsizing in publications has led to buyouts and layoffs for thousands of journalists. Rene Gutel talks to two former business news staffers who left their publications and crafted new careers.

Featured guests are Helen Huntley, a former columnist for the St. Petersburg Times who is now a financial advisor and Holly Fisher, a former SC Biz News editor turned freelance journalist.

Pam Luecke, the Donald W. Reynolds Chair in Business Journalism at Washington and Lee University, discusses how recent, dramatic economic events have made the study of business journalism more relevant. She details whether it's an exciting - or depressing - time to be teaching business journalism.

Dave Kansas, the author of "The Guide to the End of Wall Street as We Know It," details what business reporters can gain from looking back at the economic collapse in 2008. He also discusses the economic fallout on the newspaper industry and his thoughts on the quality of financial reporting.

*photo by The Wall Street Journal

Downsizing in the newspaper industry has forced many publications to do more with less. Host Rene Gutel talks to two reporters who are solely responsible for handling their paper’s business coverage. (Co-produced by Carol Legg)

Host Rene Gutel talks to Jay Rosen, a journalism professor at New York University, about his latest project, newassignment.net, an experiment in open-sourced reporting where professional journalists collaborate with contributors. (Produced by Carol Legg)

Host Rene Gutel talks to David Cay Johnston, formerly of The New York Times, about covering the economy, from the banking collapse to market volatility and the politics in Washington. Johnston says the press is falling asleep at the wheel, and he offers story ideas for covering the local angle.  

Host Rene Gutel talks to Carolyn Pritchard, managing editor of GigaOM Network, about using new media to deliver technology news to readers and about her path to online journalism.

Host Rene Gutel speaks with Connie Prater, a veteran newspaper journalist turned new media reporter.  Prater works as a senior personal finance writer for CreditCards.com.  

*music by Blue Valentine