Financial Journalism Excellence Programme To Be Held In Malta This Month

A new professional development initiative aimed at raising the standard of financial reporting, will bring together international newsroom experience with local financial, regulatory and academic expertise. The Financial Journalism Excellence Programme will run over two mornings, 27th and 28th August, at the University of Malta's Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy.

Leading the editorial side of the programme are Tom Burroughes, Group Editor of WealthBriefing and a former Reuters correspondent, and Jeff Prestridge, a UK finance journalist with more than four decades of experience. Rather than a traditional seminar format, the programme takes a hands-on "Newsroom, Not Classroom" approach, combining masterclasses, editorial discussions, team exercises and practical newsroom challenges. Topics range from reading financial statements and reporting on budgets and markets to financial crime, investigative journalism, personal finance, source verification, and the responsible use of AI in journalism.

The initiative was developed by CapableMind founder Petra Ellul Mercer and Market Accents Principal Noreen Burroughes Cesareo MBE, in collaboration with the University of Malta's Department of Insurance and Risk Management. Burroughes Cesareo summed up the programme's aim: journalists don't need to be accountants or economists, but they do need the confidence to question the numbers, understand regulatory and economic context, and identify the story that matters.

Guest contributors include University of Malta Professor Simon Grima, alongside representatives from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) and the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, reflecting the programme's close ties to Malta's regulatory community.

The programme is open to journalists, editors, business and current affairs reporters, content creators, and communications and public affairs professionals across financial services, with participants who complete both days receiving a Certificate of Completion. Places are limited, register here.