Monthly Archives: January 2012
Miami Herald biz editor will also work for Travel + Leisure
by Chris Roush
Travel & Leisure announced Tuesday the appointment of Jane Wooldridge as cruise editor of the magazine.
In a unique arrangement, Wooldridge will remain The Miami Herald’s business editor and will also continue to oversee the visual arts coverage at The Herald while regularly reporting on the cruise industry for Travel & Leisure, effective immediately.
“Jane brings to T+L an enormous level of knowledge of travel in general and a great deal of experience of cruising—an area of travel our readers love,” Travel & Leisure editor Nancy Novogrod said in a statement. “We are thrilled to welcome Jane — a frequent traveler who has visited more than 100 countries — to the world of Travel + Leisure.”
Prior to being named executive business editor in 2009, Wooldridge was travel editor at The Miami Herald for a decade, where she won many awards for writing, editing, blogging, and photography.
Wooldridge had been travel editor since 1999. Before that, she was a business columnist from 1996 to 1999 at the paper, writing a twice-weekly column and Business Monday cover stories.
Woodridge has been at the paper since 1983. She is married to a local real estate development consultant and is a Duke University graduate.
A similar arrangement exists with Andrew Ross Sorkin, who writes for The New York Times while also appearing on CNBC.
Forbes journalists building their brands
by Chris Roush
Forbes chief product officer Lewis Dvorkin writes Tuesday about how some of the business magazine’s journalists are creating a brand for themselves, which helps their careers.
Dvorkin writes, “For a new breed of content creator, brand-building on FORBES highlights the potential rewards of Entrepreneurial Journalism:
– Andy Greenberg, one of our technology reporters in New York, used his individually branded page on Forbes.com to focus on computer security and hackers. His comprehensive and in-depth digital work (more than our magazine could ever accommodate) caught the attention of Julian Assange, leading to an exclusive interview, a timely cover story in FORBES magazine and continuous coverage of Wikileaks online. All that led to a book deal for Andy on the history of cryptographic anonymity and how it led to Wikileaks.
– Parmy Olson, a staff reporter in London, followed a similar path (‘My book would have never happened if it weren’t for my posts on Forbes.com’). Parmy was intrigued by a loose confederation of hackers known as Anonymous. She began to post about the group’s bigger attacks, developed sources in Britain and reached out to core supporters, including a purported 16-year-old girl hacker. Parmy’s controversial email interview with the teen resulted in her most popular post. Her continued posts have built an audience for the release of her upcoming book, We Are Anonymous: Inside the World LulzSec, Anonymous and the Global Cyber Insurgency.
– Staff reporter David Ewalt, a geek and avid gamer, scored a book deal to write about the history of Dungeons & Dragons, in large part because of his digital presence and access to millions of Forbes.com readers. He’s now building an audience for his book on Forbes.com by frequently covering the gaming industry and tech culture. ‘As I wrote the book,’ says David, ‘I could post about D&D and related subjects on my page, building awareness about the book, increasing interest and establishing myself as an expert on the subject.’ Of Dice and Men is scheduled to be released later this year.”
Read more here.
SABEW contest attracts record entries
by Chris Roush
A record number of entries were submitted this year in the 17th annual Best in Business competition conducted by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.
A total of 1,030 entries will be considered for awards, bettering last year’s record entry total of 904. Some 796 entries were submitted two years ago.
“We’re very gratified by this year’s unprecedented level of interest,” said SABEW’s president, Kevin Noblet, a managing editor at Dow Jones Newswires. “It clearly reflects the growing importance of financial and economic news, both to the public and inside the organizations that produce it.”
“We reshaped our contest a year ago to make the categories better fit with how news is now delivered, and we added new, separate categories for personal finance, real estate and international coverage. I think all that has had a positive impact,” Noblet added. “We’re seeing organizations entering the competition that never did before, and we’re seeing longtime participants submitting more entries.”
Teams of judges are now considering the work submitted by business journalists in print, digital, and radio and television categories.
Winners will be announced later in February, with the awards presented Saturday, March 17, at SABEW’s 49th annual spring conference in Indianapolis. The conference will be at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.
Read more here.
New WSJ.com show “Off Duty” to air five days a week
by Chris Roush
TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE
“Off Duty,” a new 30-minute video show that will launch next month on The Wall Street Journal’s website, will air five days a week, said Alan Murray, executive editor of WSJ Online and deputy managing editor of the paper, on Tuesday.
The show will air at 6 p.m. EST. He declined to give its start date, saying only that it will begin in February. Journal reporter Wendy Bounds will be the host.
“If you look at what we have done so far with our video programming, it has been very news focused,” said Murray in a phone conversation Tuesday afternoon with Talking Biz News. “This has been an opportunity for us to take what we’re doing that’s not so newsy — theater, fashion, art, cooking travel and music — that has a longer life and do more video on them.”
The show will be modeled after the Off Duty section that runs in the Weekend Journal.
The Journal has been heavily expanding its video news offerings during the week as a way of expanding its reach. “WSJ Live” currently offers up to four total hours of live programming each business day from across the company’s network of sites. Its primary news show, “The Hub,” airs every morning at 8:30 a.m. EST and is hosted by Journal reporter Kelly Evans.
“We use live programming just as a means of creating on-demand programming,” said Murray about “Off Duty”‘s content. “Each day’s shows will be cut into five or six pieces, which will be available both on You Tube and on the WSJ Network.
“When you go to You Tube, I am not even sure you will be able to find the 30-minute show. But you will be able to find the five to six components. We will do five or six a day, 25 or 30 a week.”
Loeb Awards extend deadline to enter
by Chris Roush
UCLA Anderson School of Management and the G. and R. Loeb Foundation have extended the deadline to submit entries for the 2012 Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism to Tuesday, Feb. 7.
Submissions and nominations for the competition categories and career achievement awards are accepted online only at www.loeb.anderson.ucla.edu.
The Gerald Loeb Awards are the most prestigious honor in business journalism, recognizing writers, editors and producers who make significant contributions to the understanding of business, finance and the economy for both the private investor and the general public.
Entries are being accepted in 13 categories: Large Newspapers, Medium & Small Newspapers, Magazines, Commentary, Breaking News, Beat Reporting, News Services, Explanatory, Online Enterprise, Blogging, Personal Finance, Television Enterprise and Business Book.
Consideration is limited to entries that were published or broadcast in the United States during calendar year 2011.
Read more here.
WSJ.com planning new show
by Chris Roush
The Wall Street Journal, which has been expanding its online video programming in the past year, will introduce a new show next month called “Off Duty.”
The show will be hosted by Journal reporter Gwendolyn Bounds, who has been working on some of its online shows already. The show will focus on food, fashion, luxury, lifestyle and cars and also feature Journal auto critic Dan Neil.
The show is part of a new partnership with Google/YouTube and The Journal.
Austin Biz Journal names new publisher
by Chris Roush
Colin Pope, the editor of the Austin Business Journal, reports that Heather Ladage has been named publisher of the paper, effective Feb. 1.
She succeeds Lyn Chasteen, who is retiring from the industry after a 20-year career with the newspaper’s parent company, American City Business Journals.
Pope writes, “For the past three years, Ladage has been part of ACBJ’s corporate circulation team, first as director of circulation sales development and later as a regional circulation marketing director serving several business journals.
“When the corporate circulation department was reorganized earlier this month, Ladage assumed the newly created position of national audience development director–sales.
“Throughout her tenure as an Austin-based member of the corporate circulation staff, Ladage has worked with dozens of ACBJ markets on general circulation management and specifically on hiring, training and managing circulation sales teams. Before joining the corporate circulation group, she was circulation and marketing director at the Austin Business Journal and had been a circulation account executive prior to that. Earlier in her career, Ladage was an account manager with a Honolulu-based media firm selling advertising for newspapers and magazines.”
Read more here.
Claman of Fox Business not afraid to confront sources
by Chris Roush
Jonathan Soroff of The Improper Bostonian interviewed Fox Business Network anchor Liz Claman.
Here is an excerpt:
What do you consider your biggest strength in your job?
I really try to listen. I’m not one of those reporters who comes in with a list of questions and just sticks to it. You can miss the story of your life by doing that.
Ever worry that you’ll get too close to a subject and be unable to cover them objectively?
No. I’ve told a lot of people, “I really hope you never do anything stupid or illegal, because I will come after you…” I have no qualms about throwing a curveball at the head of someone I might have an acquaintance with. It’s my job.
What happens when you don’t feel well and you still have to do the show?
Well, for the first time in my 23-year career, I recently couldn’t finish a show because I couldn’t stop coughing, and thankfully my co-anchor covered for me. But I was devastated. I was crying and cursing myself. I will say this, too. I covered the Consumer Electronics Show in 2009 with three broken ribs and three days later did the Detroit Auto show, which entails traipsing around convention centers the size of three football fields.
Ever benefited financially from tips, news or insight you got on the job?
I wish! We can’t take big positions in anything. The one thing I’ve learned is that the stock market is the best thing going. Since 1929, the stock market has returned, on average, something between nine and 11 percent.
Read more here.
Bloomberg TV names executive producer
by Chris Roush
Veteran business news journalist Dan Arnall has joined Bloomberg as executive producer of news for Bloomberg Television.
He replaces Dan Colarusso, who left last month to join Reuters.
Arnall has more than a decade of experience covering the economy, American business and the impact of financial regulation, among other major stories. Based in New York, he will oversee Bloomberg’s television news gathering and editorial in the U.S. Arnall will also work to integrate video content across the company’s multimedia properties including Bloomberg.com and Bloomberg Mobile, which together reach millions of users per day.
“Dan’s extensive experience in covering business news and his passion for the beat, along with his creative production skills, will make him a crucial leader of the Bloomberg TV team,” said Andrew Morse, head of Bloomberg TV in the U.S., in a statement.
“I’m looking forwarding to joining the best team in business news,” said Arnall in a statement. “This is an exciting time of growth for Bloomberg as we expand our TV programming and bring our in-depth business and financial news coverage across every digital platform.”
Arnall joins Bloomberg from ABC News, where he served as senior producer for business coverage and most recently as senior producer for domestic news at “World News with Diane Sawyer.” While at ABC, he ran business and economic coverage across all platforms, including coverage of the 2008 financial crisis, the Japanese earthquake and Presidential and mid-term elections.
Prior to joining ABC in 2004, Arnall began his journalism career as a reporter for ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates in Missouri, then at WNBC and CNN in New York. He holds a master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and graduated cum laude from the University of Missouri.
South Dakota paper adding biz news page
by Chris Roush
Executive editor J.J. Perry of the Aberdeen American News in South Dakota writes Monday about how the paper is adding a business news page in Friday’s paper.
Perry writes, “Business reporter Jeff Natalie-Lees will be primarily responsible for the content on the page. Included will be a weekly profile spotlighting one of Aberdeen’s many businesses or companies; a consumer-driven column by Natalie-Lees where he will answer your local business questions (email those to business@aberdeennews.com), bust rumors and offer little tidbits from the local business scene; and briefs of local hires and promotions, which until now had been scattered throughout the week.
“There will also be a digital component to this page in the form of a Twitter feed, @Business_AAN.
“Though we are adding a new page to the Friday content menu, we will not be taking anything away. We will still focus on local stories for the Friday paper as we do the other six days of the week.
“We also will have business news throughout the week and throughout the paper as warranted, especially breaking news, trend stories and larger pieces about the local economy and job market. But this page will give a nice snapshot of what’s happening in our community day to day.”
Read more here.
