Do I need a finance background to take the Certificate in Business Journalism?

No. The course teaches the working financial literacy a business reporter needs from scratch. Many students arrive with no prior finance training and finish able to read a set of company accounts confidently.

How is the Certificate in Business Journalism different from a finance course?

A finance course teaches you to be a finance professional. The Certificate in Business Journalism teaches you to report on finance for a general or specialist audience. The two cover overlapping ground but with different aims and outputs.

Will the Certificate in Business Journalism prepare me for the Diploma in Financial Journalism?

Yes. The Certificate covers the business-news foundation; the Diploma in Financial Journalism builds on it with deeper market-structure work, financial-instrument coverage and a financial reporting portfolio.

Is the Certificate in Business Journalism London-focused?

Yes in the sense that the City of London dominates UK business journalism. The reporting and disclosure principles taught apply equally to other major financial centres and to coverage of non-listed companies.

Can I take the Certificate in Business Journalism fully online?

Yes. The online route covers all modules with live sessions; the analyst-call and company-results exercises run as scheduled live newsdays you join over video.

Certificate in Business Journalism in London | LSJHML | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The Certificate in Business Journalism at the London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages (LSJHML) is a three-to-six-month UK qualification covering the foundations of business reporting in a City-of-London context. You will learn to read a set of company results, follow an RNS announcement, understand the basic operation of UK equity and credit markets, and write business news against the deadlines City desks actually work to.

Business journalism rewards specificity. This Certificate trains the reading and writing habits that distinguish a reporter who genuinely understands a company from one who paraphrases the press release.

Key Features

Company-reporting workshop — annual report, half-year, trading update, RNS announcements.
Markets module — equities, fixed income, FX, basic derivatives, the structure of UK markets.
Regulatory framework — FCA disclosure rules, the FRC, takeover code basics.
Business interview craft — analyst calls, CEO interviews, the briefing-versus-quote distinction.
Portfolio — six business news pieces and one short company profile by course end.
Three study modes — on-campus, fully online, or distance learning.

What You Will Learn

The Certificate in Business Journalism is structured around the working day of a City reporter — reading RNS at 7am, writing the first take by 7.30, getting the analyst quotes in by 9, filing the second take, and standing by the numbers.

Reading company accounts at working level — income statement, balance sheet, cash flow, EPS.
RNS announcements — the categories, the disclosure obligations, what's news and what isn't.
Market structure basics — equities, bonds, FX, indices, contemporary UK market venues.
Company news structure — top line discipline, attribution, the numbers in the second paragraph.
Analyst calls and broker notes — what they're for, how to use them, when not to trust them.
Regulatory reporting — FCA actions, FRC enforcement, takeover code basics.
Business interviewing — analyst, CEO, CFO, IR head.
Defamation in business journalism — extra risks, working pre-publication checks.

Who This Course Is For

General reporters wanting to move into business or financial journalism.
Corporate communications and IR professionals wanting to understand the reporter's view.
Career-changers from accounting, finance or consulting into journalism.
Bloggers and freelance writers covering business or technology stories.

Career Pathways

City and business journalism continues to recruit despite wider press contraction — particularly for digital-first business publishers, wire services and specialist desks. Typical applications include:

Junior Business Reporter (specialist trade publisher, wire service)
Markets Reporter Trainee (newswire, financial title)
Editorial Assistant (national business desk)
Corporate Affairs / IR Communications (in-house at listed company)
Specialist Sector Reporter (energy, fintech, healthcare trade press)
Continued Study (Diploma in Business Journalism, Diploma in Journalism)

The Certificate articulates into the Diploma in Business Journalism at LSJHML for students continuing.

Entry Requirements

Minimum age 16.
Secondary school qualification (GCSE/O-Level or international equivalent).
IELTS 5.5 (or equivalent) for non-native English speakers.
No prior journalism or finance experience required — though comfort with numbers is helpful.

Why Study at LSJHML

The London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages is a specialist higher-education provider based in central London. Our programmes are designed in dialogue with working professionals — journalists, translators, civil servants, academics, broadcasters, editors, publishers and policy researchers — so what you learn in seminar on Monday is what your future employer is using on Tuesday. We deliberately keep cohorts small, give every student named tutor support, and treat employability as a structural part of every programme rather than an optional add-on.

London is the work — politics, courts, capital markets, theatre, broadcasting, publishing, public service, the global press. Your studies are taught in the same square mile where the stories you read about happen. Whether you join us on-campus, online or by distance learning, the city is your classroom and our industry network is your launchpad.