Posted By, Kyle Coulter
From a terrace on the side of a skyscraper in New York City, Michael Regan spoke to a class of journalism students at his Alma Mater on Thursday via Skype. The University of Delaware graduate is currently an editor-at-large at Bloomberg News where he focuses on equities markets as well as high-frequency trading and other market structure controversies.
Much like Dan Steinberg, who spoke with the same class two weeks prior, Regan brought a self-deprecating and humorous tone to the conversation. After being told that the students had been required to read a few of his stories as well as watch some of his appearances on CBS This Morning, Regan confessed that he was surprised everyone in the class was still awake! But between his jokes about the size of his head on the projector screen and his anecdotes about how he was told he had “a face for radio,” Regan explained how he went from a writer making $8.50 an hour at a paper with a circulation of 5,000, to being a financial correspondent for CBS.
Regan spoke briefly about his time at the Trentonian and Fox News; however, he admitted that they weren’t “bright spots on his resume.” What did stick out in his mind was his time as a contributing editor for the Associated Press.
“Seven of the best years of my life. It is the backbone of journalism in America,” he said. “The AP is one of the most respectable, trustworthy, and objective news sources there is.”
Regan worked for the AP from 2000-2007 and mentioned that he always enjoyed writing about the mob presence in New York City. Quite a dramatic shift from when he was writing at the Daily Phoenix and covering hard-hitting news stories like the new boiler at the local high school.
After the Associated Press, Regan joined Bloomberg News, which started in the early 1990′s as nothing more than a piece of financial software that was used to constantly inform investors about the changes in the stock market. Bloomberg News now sells its information terminals to investment companies at $20,000 a piece. Regan said that BN currently has 300,000 subscribers, and that their aspirations for the company are growing.
“Our goal is to become one of the most influential news organizations in the world. And I think we’re getting there,” Regan said.
Back when he was a student at the University of Delaware in the early 1990′s, Regan admitted he did not understand anything about IPO’s, bond trading, or stock prices. As the city editor at The Review, Regan said his dream was to one day write for Rolling Stone. After his father convinced him to pursue a minor in economics, Regan realized that money was at the root of all kinds of journalism.
“Whether you want to cover the white house, professional sports, or business, the best stories revolve around money,” he said.
Regan believes in a hands on approach to editing, and contributes regularly to the stories on bloomberg.com. He said that he always wants to “keep one toe in the water of editing and writing.” Regan does try to write one column of 500-600 words every morning by 10am because “business news breaks early.” He then spends the rest of the day editing for the website, and making what he calls “talking head” appearances on bloomberg.com and CBS This Morning.
Before signing off, Regan left the group of young journalists with a piece of advice.
“Challenge yourself in your electives,” he said. “Don’t be afraid of it.”