Columbia Journalism School will launch the Nathan S. Collier Business Reporting Program at Columbia University in October 2026, a fully funded workshop designed to help journalists better understand and report on the economic, financial and organizational forces shaping society.
Made possible by a $2.4 million gift from real estate entrepreneur, philanthropist and longtime Columbia Journalism Review Board of Overseers member Nathan S. Collier, the program covers participants’ transportation, lodging and meals to ensure talent and potential, not financial means, determine access to the institution’s resources and instruction.
The inaugural cohort will bring together up to 10 early- to mid-career journalists for a week-long seminar in New York City, featuring instruction from Columbia faculty, industry experts and accomplished journalists. Just as importantly, the program will cultivate a professional network of journalists covering similar beats, encouraging collaboration and shared learning.
“To create the greatest possible prosperity for society, business needs both accountability and intelligent regulation,” said Nathan S. Collier. “One path toward that is insightful coverage by the media, and for journalists to provide that, they must know enough to ask penetrating questions. They must understand finance, basic principles of accounting and economics, the mechanics of capitalism and organizational behavior. The Nathan S. Collier Business Reporting Program is designed to provide that foundational knowledge.”
The Collier Program builds on Columbia Journalism School's longstanding commitment to professional education and custom training, including the highly successful Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Economics and Business Journalism, which recently marked its 50th anniversary.
“Whether reporters are covering politics, science or the arts, they need a solid background in how businesses succeed and fail,” said Robert Smith, Director of the Knight-Bagehot Program. “Columbia Journalism School has a long tradition of giving students the confidence and tools to follow the money and ask the hard questions. Now, the new Collier Business program will make those business skills accessible to reporters around the nation.”
Understanding today’s institutions and systems requires specialized knowledge and a nuanced understanding of how they operate. Thanks to the generosity of Nathan S. Collier, Columbia Journalism School is expanding opportunities to develop the expertise and professional relationships necessary to report on those forces effectively.
Applications for the first cohort will open later this summer.
