Those of us in financial services know that we are a very unique group, and by unique I mean many of us exhibit the characteristics of your typical Type A personality. Whether at work or at home, we expect quality and precision. When it comes to the sources we use and rely on for information pertaining to the financial markets, it is no different. We expect our sources to have an equal weighting of accuracy and timeliness in what is being reported, and yes, we want it like that consistently. Getting the facts right, getting the story out quickly, all the time — that’s no easy task. And so all that being said, our industry has a strong capacity to recognize excellence when we see it.

Competing against the rise of blogs, alternative financial online news and just about anyone with a mobile device and Twitter handle, the job of today’s financial journalist is challenging, especially for women in what is still a male dominated industry.

Financial journalism and Wall Street are connected 24/7/365 through a labyrinth of medians that result in the two worlds being highly intertwined. There are few industries outside ours where the reliance on and impact to the everyday functions of one affects the other. From the moment of waking up in morning until the late hours of the evening, individuals in journalism and finance spend an enormous amount of time and resources monitoring the actions of the other.

It is not lost on us how difficult it is for financial journalists to strive in this era of high speed news and information. Competing against the rise of blogs, alternative financial online news and just about anyone with a mobile device and Twitter handle, the job of today’s financial journalist is challenging, especially for women in what is still a male dominated industry. This has prompted the STA Women in Finance Committee to recognize one such journalist with our inaugural Excellence in Journalism Award, with this first annual award focusing on beat reporting.  

Beat reporting, also known as specialized or deadline reporting, is a genre of journalism that has several descriptions, albeit narrow in nature. Beat reporting in the financial markets describes the type of journalist that we go to when news has broken on a particular company or sector. As the story develops, we realize additional facts may come to be known, but we need to feel confident that whatever we are reading is accurate and timely. As the STA WIF Committee considered potential recipients of the Excellence in Journalism Award, more than twenty-five journalists were identified. Narrowing the list down to one was difficult but the journalist who appeared at the top of everyone’s “Top 3” list was Annie Massa, Reporter at Bloomberg News. Annie Massa has been with Bloomberg covering financial services for more than four years. During that time she has built a long list of followers and an honorable reputation that is consistent with our founding.

The STA WIF Committee is thrilled that Annie has accepted being the recipient of this inaugural award and we look forward to presenting it to her at our 3 ^rdAnnual Evening of Recognition & Education on May 21 in New York City.

Please join us in congratulating Annie Massa!

See April STA WIF Newsletter here