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Rob Wells

Associate Professor of Journalism, University of Maryland
I was a full-time journalist for 26 years, primarily covering business and politics, at The Associated Press, Bloomberg News, Dow Jones Newswires, and The Wall Street Journal. I was the Washington bureau chief for Dow Jones Newswires and then the Deputy Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal in Washington. I began teaching at the Merrill College in 2010. I left the newsroom in 2011 to pursue a second career in academia.

I have authored two books: “The Enforcers: How Little-Known Trade Reporters Exposed the Keating Five and Advanced Business Journalism” (University of Illinois Press, 2019), and "The Insider: How the Kiplinger Newsletter Bridged Washington and Wall Street" (University of Massachusetts Press, 2022).

I earned a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies at St. John's College in Annapolis and then a Ph.D. in Journalism Studies at the Merrill College. During the 2011-12 school year, I helped launch a business reporting program at the University of South Carolina while serving as a Reynolds Visiting Business Journalism Professor.

After earning my Ph.D. in 2016, I taught for five years at the University of Arkansas, where I rose to the rank of associate professor and led Arkansas' journalism graduate program. While at Arkansas, I ran ArkansasCovid.com, an award-winning statewide daily data and news website reporting on the pandemic. I also partnered with Merrill’s Howard Center for Investigative Journalism on multiple projects, including the award-winning “Nowhere To Go” homelessness investigation. I returned to the Merrill College in the Spring 2022, where I teach data journalism, basic reporting and an investigative reporting course in Baltimore.

This course uses big data to examine how American newspapers covered lynchings

Oct 31, 2023 09:18 am UTC| Business

Title of course: Lynching and the Press What prompted the idea for the course? One of my students was reviewing a spreadsheet that listed total lynchings by state. She exhaled, and then, with a bit of weariness,...

Economy

Cuba-U.S. Talks Begin Amid Deepening Energy Crisis

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel confirmed Friday that Cuba and the United States have entered into official negotiations, marking a significant diplomatic development as the island nation struggles under a crippling oil...

Iran War Sends Oil Prices Surging Past $100 as Hormuz Crisis Deepens

Global oil markets continued their dramatic climb on Friday, with Brent crude settling at $103.69 per barrel a 3.2% daily gain while West Texas Intermediate rose 3.7% to close at $99.31. The surge marks a staggering 43%...

U.S. Stocks Slide as Iran War Fuels Oil Price Volatility and Market Uncertainty

U.S. stocks closed lower on Friday, wrapping up a turbulent week as surging crude oil prices rattled equity markets. All three major indexes the Dow Jones, SP 500, and Nasdaq posted both daily and weekly losses, while...

Asian Currencies Tumble as Indian Rupee Hits Record Low Amid Oil Market Turmoil

Asian currencies came under broad pressure Friday, with the Indian rupee sliding to a historic low as global markets grappled with escalating energy disruptions tied to the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran. The selloff...

Dollar Surges to Three-Month High Amid Iran War Crisis and Energy Shock

The U.S. dollar climbed to its strongest level in over three months on Friday, marking its second consecutive weekly gain since the outbreak of war with Iran. As global markets buckled under geopolitical pressure, the...

Politics

Trump's Iran War Strategy Caught Between Hawks, Economists, and His Political Base

A fierce internal battle within the Trump White House is shaping how the United States navigates its ongoing military campaign against Iran and how the president ultimately defines what victory looks like. Nearly two...

U.S. Offers $10 Million Reward Targeting Senior Iranian Officials Including New Supreme Leader

The United States government has announced a reward of up to $10 million for actionable information on ten senior Iranian military and intelligence figures, including Irans newly appointed Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba...

Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration's Move to End Temporary Protected Status for Somali Immigrants

A federal judge has temporarily halted the Trump administrations attempt to terminate legal protections for nearly 1,100 Somali nationals currently living and working in the United States. The ruling, issued Friday by U.S....

Ukraine Peace Talks Delayed as U.S. Cites Middle East Tensions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy revealed on Friday that the United States had requested a postponement of the latest trilateral negotiations aimed at resolving the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, now...

Israel-Iran War Escalates: Gaza, West Bank, and Lebanon Death Tolls Rise

Nearly two weeks into the expanded Israeli military offensive, violence continues to surge across multiple fronts Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Iran with casualties mounting and millions displaced from their homes....

Science

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Technology

Anduril's $20B Army Contract Signals Major Tailwind for Palantir

Anduril Industries has secured a landmark $20 billion firm-fixed-price contract with the U.S. Army, marking one of the most significant defense-tech awards in recent memory. The 10-year agreement, running through March...

Microsoft Azure First to Validate NVIDIA's Vera Rubin NVL72, Signaling a New Era in AI Infrastructure

Microsoft has become the first cloud provider to begin validating NVIDIAs Vera Rubin NVL72 system, a landmark move that could reshape the competitive landscape of AI infrastructure. CEO Satya Nadella announced the...

Meta Faces Major Layoffs Amid $600B AI Infrastructure Push

Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) is reportedly planning its most significant workforce reduction since the 2023 Year of Efficiency, with cuts potentially exceeding 20% of its total headcount. Citing a Reuters report, the...

U.S. Pulls Back Proposed AI Chip Export Rule Amid Policy Uncertainty

The Trump administration has withdrawn a proposed rule that would have reshaped how artificial intelligence chips are exported to countries around the world. The U.S. Department of Commerce quietly removed the draft...

Apple MacBook Neo Earns Best Repairability Score in Over a Decade, But Falls Short of Competitors

Apples newly announced MacBook Neo, starting at just $499 for students, has received the highest repairability rating the company has achieved since 2014, according to a fresh analysis by iFixit the well-known repair...