Former visiting business journalism professor returns to ASU

Former CNN correspondent Susan Lisovicz will be the Donald W. Reynolds Visiting Professor in Business Journalism for the spring semester at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

This is the second time that Lisovicz, a longtime CNN Wall Street reporter who covered the 2008 financial debacle and bailout, has taught at the Cronkite School. She first served as the school’s Reynolds Visiting Professor in spring 2011.

“It's a joy to return to Cronkite to join such a talented faculty and help shape the next generation of young journalists,” she said. 

In more than a decade at CNN, she interviewed business leaders such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffett and provided daily coverage of the dot.com boom and bust and the financial aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The former president of the New York Financial Writers Association, she was featured on the cover of BusinessWeek for the story “What the Market is Telling Us.”

Prior to joining CNN, Lisovicz was a correspondent for CNBC, where she covered major events such as the merger of AOL and Time Warner. She previously was a news writer and weekend anchor for CNN Headline News. She has been an Asian Pacific Fellow, a Jefferson Fellow in Asia and a Radio Television Digital News Association Fellow in Europe. She received the President’s Medal from her alma mater, William Paterson University, for her contributions to the university and community.

At the Cronkite School, Lisovicz will teach business journalism. The position is made possible by a generous grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. The foundation also supports the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism and the Donald W. Reynolds Endowed Chair in Business Journalism at the Cronkite School.

“We’re delighted to once again have Susan Lisovicz impart her outstanding enthusiasm and professionalism to our Cronkite students who aspire to be trustworthy broadcast journalists,” said Andrew Leckey, president of the Reynolds Center and the Reynolds Endowed Chair in Business Journalism. “Whenever I did an anchor toss to one of Susan’s business stories back in our CNBC days, I always knew she’d be the consummate on-air professional, explaining financial complexities with accuracy, ease and grace.”

Former New York Times business reporter Leslie Wayne was the school’s inaugural Reynolds Visiting Professor in Business Journalism in 2010, followed by Lisovicz in 2011. Sharon Bernstein, former business reporter and editor at the Los Angeles Times, was the 2012 Reynolds Visiting Professor.

The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation is a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur for whom it is named. Headquartered in Las Vegas, it has committed over $115 million nationwide through its Journalism Program.