The web site http://babron.com/ is part of a simulation taken from today's headlines for Babson College business students involving corporate corruption, leaks, conflicting information, and a paper trail pointing in a number of different directions.
This is an effort Babson College communication professor Renee Hobbs and graduate Brian Carr (Class of '87)to help business students understand the role of journalists in helping to expose and communicate to the public about the newsgathering processes involved in the current spate of accounting frauds and management corruption.
Babson students interviewed Carr releasing information about the financial disaster, posing as director of public relations for the fictional company Babron. Students had prepared for the press conference by visiting the company's fake website (http://babron.com/), interviewing directors, secretaries and even talking on the phone withthe company's janitor. Students struggled with reconciling conflictinginformation, irrelevant details, and asking the right questions -- ones that helped uncover the news story's facts.
It was not just another boring press conference. This one had information about $58 million in questionable accounting charges from a major portfolio management company, the sudden resignation of a company director, and secret documents retrieved by the company janitor. There was an emotionally hysterical company officer and reams of mystifying financials.
According to Professor Hobbs, the information was so complete and realistic that many students believed that Babron was a real company. "Because students had to construct a news story themselves by uncovering and verifying information, they learned about the role of journalists in helping to expose financial and accounting fraud," said Hobbs.
Brian Carr, a former journalist who now works at an internet company, developed all the materials for the simulation, noting that realistic hands-on learning experiences can take advantages of the flexibility of online communication. Said Carr, "We created a kind of real-world situation for students to give them a chance to strengthen their critical thinking and communication skills." The simulation includes opportunities for interactive email conversations, access to financial documents, press releases and speeches--all made accessible through Babson's comprehensive approach to using online technologies for learning.
Undergraduate student David Castle was one of many students highly engaged by the learning experience. "It was amazing to see how the facts of the news story can be different depending on what a journalist does. It sure makes me think about the work involved in how the news actually gets on the front page."
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