William J. O'Neil Program in Business Journalism

SMU Journalism alumnae Kian Hervey (‘14), founder of Forty Magazine, and Natalie Wolfe (‘12), co-founder of StudioHop, discuss their entrepreneurial journeys with undergraduate students in JOUR 3355, Prof. Jake Batsell’s Media Entrepreneurship class. Students conceive, develop and pitch an entrepreneurial project during the class, which counts toward fulfilling course requirements for the O’Neil Program in Business Journalism. 

 As global markets and fast-paced technological change transform the American economic and media landscapes, mastery of business news and familiarity with entrepreneurship have emerged as marketable skills across multiple professional fields. The O’Neil Program equips aspiring journalists and media professionals with the knowledge to understand complex business and economic issues, the journalistic skills to make those topics understandable and accessible to multiplatform audiences, and the entrepreneurial spirit to take charge of their own careers. And because financial literacy is critical to many professions, the tools and techniques developed in this program also will prepare students for more sophisticated and insightful coverage of subjects ranging from politics to technology to entertainment to the environment to the fashion industry. Students will put into practice what they’re learning about business, financial markets, entrepreneurship, and economics in advanced journalism classes, through coverage of North Texas companies and the regional economy, and in the development of their own ideas. 

Students enrolled in the program are eligible for generous SMU scholarships courtesy of William O’Neil and the publication he founded, Investor’s Business Daily. Alumni of the O’Neil program have landed jobs at organizations including Bloomberg Radio and TV, Goldman Sachs, Harper’s Bazaar, and numerous newspapers and broadcast stations.

This innovative interdisciplinary program includes courses in both the Cox School of Business and the economics department. In addition to the 37 credit hours required for the major in Journalism and/or Fashion Media, students wishing to concentrate in business and finance journalism must complete either:

• a second major in business;
• the 18-hour traditional Cox minor in business administration; or
• the 18-hour minor in business offered for non-Cox undergraduates, plus ECON 1311 and 1312.

Within the JOUR curriculum, O’Neil students must complete:

• JOUR 4306: Business and Journalism, and
• A second business-related JOUR elective, such as JOUR 3355: Media Entrepreneurship; JOUR 4307: Business News Seminar; or another course approved by the O’Neil Chair. 

Admission to the program is subject to the approval of the O’Neil Chair, Jake Batsell. For more details, contact Prof. Batsell at jbatsell@smu.edu.