Financial journalist

Interview with financial journalist Christoph Hartmann

Financial journalists report on developments in the world of finance and explain the connections behind them. Boredom is rare in this profession, as the following interview with Christoph Hartmann shows.

Mr Hartmann, you are a freelance financial journalist. What are the responsibilities of a financial journalist? What does the job involve?

Hartmann: Just as travel journalists report on destinations near and far, and fashion journalists cover the latest trends in haute couture, financial journalists follow developments in the financial markets.

At first, that may sound rather dry and dull. But good financial journalism is not primarily about reporting stock prices, such as "share X rose by 3.22% yesterday". It is about putting events into context and explaining the connections behind them. A short news item might therefore explain that the rise in share X was driven by the US Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates, the discovery of new natural resources in Africa and the company's commercial success in India.

Because markets around the world are interconnected, financial journalists get to travel the globe, at least virtually, even more than the most active travel journalists. And because developments in financial markets are strongly influenced by sentiment, which can change rapidly, they have to keep track of new trends even more closely than fashion journalists do. Financial journalism is anything but dry and dull.

Stock exchanges and shares, funds and bonds, index charts and price lists can seem unfamiliar to many people. At the same time, they know these topics ultimately affect their own money. The role of financial journalism is to make this complex world more accessible and understandable to its audience.

What does a typical working day look like for you?

Hartmann: The night and early morning hours, before the phone starts ringing and everyone else is at work, are often the quietest time for a journalist to finish longer articles or publications. Particularly when deadlines are approaching, I may already have spent six hours at my desk by the time the lights go on in other offices. As a result, my daily routine can sometimes be rather unconventional.

I try to catch up on current economic and political developments from around the world as early as possible in the morning, nowadays almost exclusively online. If I have editorial meetings or other appointments, there may be little opportunity to write for the rest of the day. Otherwise, my time is divided between research, using my own archives, online sources, phone calls and other channels, and writing.

I was already working as a financial journalist before the internet became part of everyday office life. It has fundamentally changed the way I work. I travel much less, yet I have access to far better information. At the same time, a considerable amount of time goes into searching through the vast amount of information available online, selecting what is relevant and verifying its reliability against other sources.

What qualifications and skills do you need to work as a financial journalist?

Hartmann: Ultimately, everything can be learned. There is no particular skill or talent you need to be born with. However, even when writing your first small article for the back pages of a minor newspaper, you should already have a broad understanding of financial and capital markets, economics and corporate finance, usually acquired through a relevant university degree.

You should also never stop learning. That is certainly easier if you have a genuine interest in financial market topics.

Dealing with the sometimes chaotic working hours is not always easy, particularly as editorial or production deadlines approach. As a freelance journalist, as I am now, you sometimes long for the structured chaos of a permanent editorial team. And when you work in a newsroom, as I did in the past, you find yourself longing for the self-determined chaos of freelance journalism.

Being good with language certainly helps, and having enjoyed writing at some point in your life is an advantage too. Finally, you have to come to terms with the fact that you will always write about far more money than you are ever likely to earn in this profession.

Are there any specific requirements that applicants should meet?

Hartmann: You need to be curious and willing to look for the numbers behind the headline figures and the facts behind the obvious facts. Only then will you be able to answer the questions your readers, listeners and viewers want answered.

Thank you very much for the interview!