SABEW26: Full Schedule

1:30pm EDT

Artificial intelligence in business journalism: Using new tools without losing editorial control

Thursday May 7, 2026 1:30pm - 2:15pm EDT

Artificial intelligence tools are rapidly becoming part of business journalism workflows — from document analysis and earnings call summaries to data exploration and research support. This session examines how business journalists are incorporating AI tools in ways that improve efficiency and insight while preserving accuracy, transparency and editorial independence.

The conversation — grounded in the realities of covering corporations, financial systems and economic power — focuses on where AI can meaningfully support business reporting and where strong ethical guardrails are essential.

This panel is in partnership with RTDNA.

Speakers

Mike Reilley

senior lecturer & founder, University of Illinois-Chicago & founder of JournalistsToolbox.ai

Mike is a senior lecturer at the University of Illinois-Chicago and founder of JournalistsToolbox.ai, a free website featuring AI tools and training videos. He’s the author of two books: “Data + Journalism” (Routledge, 2023) and
“The Journalist’s Toolbox: A Guide to Digi... Read More →

Thursday May 7, 2026 1:30pm - 2:15pm EDT
Ormandy West, lobby level

2:25pm EDT

Seeing the story in the numbers: Data visualization tools and techniques for business journalism

Thursday May 7, 2026 2:25pm - 3:10pm EDT

Ormandy West, lobby level

Business journalism relies heavily on data, but the way that data is visualized can clarify or distort the story. We’ll focus on how business journalists are using data visualization software and techniques to illuminate trends, expose disparities and explain complex financial information to audiences without misleading or oversimplifying.

The discussion emphasizes visualization as a reporting and editorial decision — not just a design exercise — meant to enhance accuracy, context and audience understanding.

This panel is in partnership with RTDNA.

Speakers

Mike Reilley

senior lecturer & founder, University of Illinois-Chicago & founder of JournalistsToolbox.ai

Thursday May 7, 2026 2:25pm - 3:10pm EDT
Ormandy West, lobby level

3:15pm EDT

Connection Exchange

Thursday May 7, 2026 3:15pm - 3:55pm EDT

Ormandy West, lobby level

The Connection Exchange is an engaging networking event created to help you connect with organizations, partners, and communities that match your interests.

Instead of structured rotations, this experience gives you the flexibility to choose who you want to meet and how you spend your time.

Tables will be labeled to help you quickly find conversations/topics that match your interest.

Confirmed organizations, partners and communities:

AAJA-NY
American City Business Journals
B2B
Early career
Freelance/laid-off journalists
Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE)
Learn more about serving on a SABEW Committee
NABJ Business Journalism Task Force
NAHJ Business Journalism Task Force
Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA)
Students

Thursday May 7, 2026 3:15pm - 3:55pm EDT
Ormandy West, lobby level

4:00pm EDT

Making financial stories personal

Thursday May 7, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT

Ormandy West, lobby level

From investing and economics to taxes and health care costs, finance can feel abstract until you hear it through a real person’s experience. Panelists who regularly speak with consumers for their pieces will discuss how they earn trust, encourage openness, and turn personal stories into powerful reporting.

Moderators

Geoff Rogow

Executive Editor, BBC Studios

Speakers

Hugh Son

Reporter, CNBC

Hugh Son has covered banking for CNBC since 2018, breaking news on the intersection of finance and technology at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Uber, Amazon, Apple, Binance and other companies. Before that, he covered finance at Bloomberg News since 2006, where he broke much... Read More →

Rachel Wolfe

Economics Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Rachel Wolfe is a reporter covering personal economics for The Wall Street Journal. Her stories focus on the ways American consumers shape the economy and how the economy shapes people’s lives. She writes frequently about changing demographics, spending behavior and societal shifts... Read More →

Thursday May 7, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Ormandy West, lobby level

8:30am EDT

Decoding economic data

Friday May 8, 2026 8:30am - 9:15am EDT

Ormandy West, lobby level

The federal government regularly releases new economic data, giving enterprising reporters constant opportunities to interpret the figures and bring them to life. But doing so isn't always straightforward: Reporters must understand the data and its sources, know how it is used by various stakeholders and even know what to do when it temporarily becomes unavailable, as it has in a few recent instances during government shutdowns. Two seasoned economic reporters and Erika McEntarfer, labor economist and the former commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, discuss how to approach government data--or the lack thereof--to find big stories in plain sight.

Speakers

Abha Bhattarai

Team Leader, Equality, Bloomberg News

Abha Bhattarai leads Equality coverage at Bloomberg, examining how power, wealth and bias shape the modern economy. She previously spent 16 years at The Washington Post, most recently as an economics correspondent. Her reporting on front-line workers during the pandemic earned a Gerald... Read More →

Matt Grossman

Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Matt Grossman covers economics for The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. He writes about economic trends and policy developments and contributes to coverage of the Federal Reserve. Recent work has included a focus on how U.S. economic statistics are tabulated and the challenges... Read More →

Erika McEntarfer

Policy fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Research

Erika is a Tad and Diane Taube Policy Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). She most recently served as Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and as a senior labor economist on the Council of Economic Advisors. She is an expert in US labor... Read More →

Friday May 8, 2026 8:30am - 9:15am EDT
Ormandy West, lobby level

10:30am EDT

From Wall Street to Main Street: Covering private equity’s growing reach

Friday May 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT

Ormandy West, lobby level

The private equity industry's influence continues to grow. Private equity firms not only own more companies than ever before, but they are also making a major push to sell their funds to everyday Americans, including through 401(k)s. Journalists who have documented the industry’s impact on the economy and our daily lives share techniques to help you cover it from your own perch.

Moderators

Antoine Gara

US private equity and deals editor, Financial Times

I cover buyout firms, the broader private capital industry and oversee a team responsible for the FT's US M&A coverage. Previously, I was a senior editor at Forbes Magazine and won a 2020 SABEW Best in Business award for investigations on Robinhood. I spent the first part of my career... Read More →

Speakers

Maureen Farrell

Finance reporter, The New York Times

I cover Wall Street for The New York Times with a focus on private equity firms, hedge funds and billionaires and their influence on the investing world and society at large.

I’ve been covering Wall Street for nearly two decades. Most recently, I spent eight years at The Wall Street Journal where I covered some of the largest tech I.P.O.s — Airbnb, Uber, Lyft and the failed public offering of WeWork. I chronicled the rise and fall of WeWork, its founder... Read More →

Miriam Gottfried

Reporter, Investing and Wealth Management, The Wall Street Journal

Miriam Gottfried covers investing and wealth management for The Wall Street Journal's Personal Finance Bureau in New York and is co-host of WSJ's Take On the Week podcast. Her reporting focuses on how individuals build and maintain their wealth.

Miriam previously spent more than eight years covering private equity and private markets for the Journal, following the industry as it evolved from targeting institutions and the super-wealthy to marketing its funds to the masses... Read More →

Megan Greenwell

author & journalist, freelance

Megan Greenwell is the author of the 2025 book Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream, which was a finalist for SABEW's Best in Business Book Award. A longtime editor at WIRED, Deadspin, New York, and other publications, she is now a contributing writer at... Read More →

Friday May 8, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT
Ormandy West, lobby level

2:00pm EDT

Beyond earnings: How reporters can decode financial statements

Friday May 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:45pm EDT

Ormandy West, lobby level

In this interactive, classroom-style session, Wharton Professor Paul Fischer demystifies the core financial statements—balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement—which can seem intimidating at first glance. He’ll explain why earnings and cash flows differ, how simple ratios can facilitate comparisons of performance over time and against peers, and where readers might look for red flags in financial reports. Attendees will leave with practical tips and sharper questions for filings, earnings calls, and corporate claims.

This panel is in partnership with The Wharton School, The University of Pennsylvania.

Speakers

Paul Fischer

Samuel R. Harrell Professor, The Wharton School, The University of Pennsylvania

Professor Fischer’s research spans two areas of interest: the acquisition and dissemination of information in capital markets, and the design of incentive systems within and between firms. His capital market research has considered the impact of accounting disclosures on security... Read More →

Beyond Earnings pdf

Friday May 8, 2026 2:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Ormandy West, lobby level

4:00pm EDT

How to bring the global trade upheaval home to local audiences

Friday May 8, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT

Ormandy West, lobby level

Global trade is being disrupted by the most significant tariff overhaul since the Great Depression. Deconstructing this new landscape for readers requires getting beyond the tariffs themselves and delving into corporate strategy, global supply chains and household economics. Even with the Supreme Court ruling that the centerpiece of the Trump administration’s tariff agenda was illegal, the new round of tariffs are estimated to cost U.S. families between $600 and $2,400 annually, with lower-income consumers getting hit the hardest. Our panel will help you untangle the labyrinth of tariffs to find compelling stories for both business and general audiences.

Moderators

Cara Rubinsky

Global Business Editor, The Associated Press

Cara Rubinsky is the London-based global business editor for The Associated Press, where she works with reporters and editors in the U.S., Asia, Europe and Africa. Her team covers technology, artificial intelligence, the global economy, retail, travel, workplace issues and other key... Read More →

Speakers

Lydia DePillis

Economy Reporter, The New York Times

Lydia DePillis is a reporter on the business desk at the New York Times. She covers a wide range of topics from an economic perspective, including the labor market, housing, climate, finance, immigration, and trade.

David Lynch

Global economics correspondent, The Washington Post

David J. Lynch is The Washington Post’s global economics correspondent. He previously wrote for The Financial Times, Bloomberg News and USA TODAY, where he was the founding bureau chief in London and Beijing. He was the paper’s first recipient of a Nieman fellowship and has reported... Read More →

Aime Williams

US trade and climate correspondent, Financial Times

Aime Williams is the US trade and climate correspondent, based in the Washington bureau. She joined the FT in London in 2016.

Friday May 8, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Ormandy West, lobby level

5:00pm EDT

Best in Business & President's award ceremony

Friday May 8, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm EDT

Ormandy West, lobby level

SABEW's 31st annual Best in Business Awards celebration, sponsored by Bloomberg, recognizes outstanding work from 2025. We'll also announce the President's Award recipient.

Speakers

Rebecca Baker

Editor at Large, Bloomberg Industry Group

Rebecca Baker is an editor at large with the Bloomberg Industry Group in Arlington, Va. She previously was deputy head of news for the New York Daily News and deputy editor-in-chief for the New York Law Journal. She also worked as a beat reporter for several regional newspapers along... Read More →

Pia Sarkar

deputy global business editor, The Associated Press

Pia Sarkar is the deputy global business editor for The Associated Press, helping to oversee a department of 40+ people. She also serves on the AP’s stylebook committee and its award-winning race & ethnicity team.

Prior to The AP, Pia was an editor and reporter for several media outlets, including The American Lawyer and the San Francisco Chronicle. She is currently president of the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing and a board member of the South Asian Journalists Associati... Read More →

Scott Wenger

Senior Economics Editor, The World Bank

Scott Wenger is senior economics editor at the World Bank, focusing on economic mobility. Scott previously was an editorial director at Barron’s and group editorial director at Arizent, managing six titles, including Financial Planning. Over his career, Scott’s led editorial teams... Read More →

Sponsors

Bloomberg

Friday May 8, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm EDT
Ormandy West, lobby level

10:00am EDT

AI doom or boom? Covering how AI disrupts and advances business

Saturday May 9, 2026 10:00am - 10:45am EDT

Ormandy West, lobby level

AI is seeping into every industry. Reporters share how they're holding AI tools accountable, covering tech companies, and how AI is changing every field of work. This panel showcases how to cover predictive and generative AI tools built by some of the largest technology companies in the world, as well as their impact on rapidly changing businesses.

Moderators

Hilke Schellmann

Associate Professor of Journalism, New York University

Hilke Schellmann is an Emmy award-winning investigative journalist and associate professor of journalism at New York University.

Her research focuses on algorithmic accountability and the societal implications of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly examining how AI systems... Read More →

Speakers

Henry Chandonnet

Business News Reporter, Business Insider

Henry Chandonnet is a reporter for the Business News desk at Business Insider. He covers consumer AI and tech culture. Henry previously wrote for Fast Company, where he covered trending tech news. He's also written for The Daily Beast, People Magazine, and Vulture.

Hayden Field

Senior AI reporter, The Verge (Vox Media)

Hayden Field is the senior AI reporter at The Verge. She's been on the AI beat for six years, regularly covering the biggest names in AI, the industry's shifting power dynamics and the tech's societal implications, as well as the AI arms race at large. Prior to The Verge, Field was... Read More →

Saturday May 9, 2026 10:00am - 10:45am EDT
Ormandy West, lobby level

11:00am EDT

Hiding in plain sight: How to find (most) anyone's phone number and email address

Saturday May 9, 2026 11:00am - 11:45am EDT

Ormandy West, lobby level

Learn how to identify and reverse engineer personal contact information for sources using breach data, reverse metadata searching, data broker data and creative guesswork.

Speakers

Zack Kopplin

Investigative Journalist, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project

Investigative journalist specializing in cross border corruption and acquiring hard to access documents.

Saturday May 9, 2026 11:00am - 11:45am EDT
Ormandy West, lobby level

12:00pm EDT

Business coverage in the age of shrinking newsrooms

Saturday May 9, 2026 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT

Ormandy West, lobby level

Local newsrooms are shrinking – and in some cases disappearing. Business journalists need to identify their audience and adapt coverage to connect with readers. Learn how newsrooms are prioritizing business beats, topics and using metrics to inform coverage. We’ll discuss how to lean into real estate, transportation, consumer behavior, workplace/labor, and how to localize national stories. And we’ll show how coverage can benefit from alternate story formats and social media.

Moderators

Letrell Crittenden

Director, Center for Community-Engaged Media, Temple University

Letrell Deshan Crittenden, Ph.D., is the inaugural Director of the Center for Community-Engaged Media at Temple University. In his year at Temple, he has guided the direction of the new center, which seeks to serve the information needs of communities by working by, for and with members... Read More →

Speakers

Julie Bykowicz

Business and Enterprise Editor, The Baltimore Banner

Julie Bykowicz is the business and enterprise editor at The Baltimore Banner, where she leads a team of reporters tackling ambitious stories. She previously covered national politics, with a focus on money and influence, for The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press and Bloomberg... Read More →

Cynthia Henry

business editor, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Cynthia Henry has served as the Philadelphia Inquirer’s business editor since 2022 and as the built environment editor since 2017. Previous roles include politics editor for the 2016 presidential election, South Jersey editor and reporter, editorial writer, and commentary edito... Read More →

James B. Nelson

business editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

James B. Nelson is business editor at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He also teaches business journalism and editing at Marquette University.

James has been an editor for the Journal Sentinel in business news and, before that, in local news, since the 1995 merger of the Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Sentinel. During the coronavirus pandemic, he’s the team leader for economics and business coverage for the Journal Sentinel... Read More →

Saturday May 9, 2026 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT
Ormandy West, lobby level

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