Tag Archives: Obituaries
WSJ reporter Ybarra dies in fall at Yosemite
by Chris Roush
Michael J. Ybarra, an extreme-sports correspondent for The Wall Street Journal‘s Leisure & Arts page, died this weekend on a recreational climb of the Sawtooth Ridge, a rugged area near Yosemite National Park. He was 45.
Larry Gordon of the Los Angeles Times writes, “In a statement, the Wall Street Journal described Ybarra as ‘an extraordinary journalist. In the best traditions of his profession he enlightened and engaged readers on a wide array of topics in clear, vivid prose.’
“His Journal column often described his own exploits and travels, such as a recent white-water kayaking trip: ‘When I’m on a whitewater run, I often feel like a pinball: shooting downstream, bumping off rocks, wildly paddling through waves to keep from being capsized. The potential for disaster seems to be everywhere.’
“Last year, Ybarra described in a Journal column how he fell — but was not hurt — during a icy mountain climb. ’Climbing in the mountains is serious business. Mistakes carry consequences — for yourself and your partner. At night I lay awake wondering if I should just go back to gym climbing or find a more sensible sports, such as table tennis,’ he wrote.”
Read more here.
Remembering Randi Weinstein’s passion for business journalism
by Chris Roush
Don Henninger, the publisher of the Phoenix Business Journal, writes about the paper’s managing editor, Randi Weinstein, who died last week at the age of 40.
Henninger writes, “She had been with the paper for the past 12 years, and was our managing editor for the past six. Three words will forever come to mind when I think of Randi: pride, passion and love.
“No one had more pride in our paper than Randi.
“No one was more excited when we scored a scoop over our competitors than Randi, a regular occurrence under her watch. No one cheered louder for what each person accomplished, both individually and as a team. Randi’s hands touched all aspects of our newsroom operation, from the weekly paper to our long lineup of special sections, from our weekly Focus reports to our daily reporting online.
“No one had more passion for the future of journalism than Randi.
“She was well-known at Arizona State University, where she left a big impact. For the past six years, she’s been responsible for hiring the dozens of interns who have joined us through her years — and she obviously had a knack for spotting talent. Two of them are now with us full time — and we’d hire more if we had the capacity.”
Read more here.
Phoenix Biz Journal ME dies at 40
by Chris Roush
Randi Weinstein, the managing editor of the Phoenix Business Journal, died Monday in her sleep. She was 40.
A story on the paper’s website states, “She was born in New York state and raised in Kansas. She graduated in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas, where she was a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority. Locally, she was an active member of AZ Women in Media, a networking and professional development group.
“‘We’re all still in shock today,’ said Phoenix Business Journal Publisher Don Henninger. ‘Her passion and love for the paper and journalism touched us all.’
“Randi’s friends knew her as an excellent hostess who often held parties at her home. She loved to travel and recently enjoyed a family trip to Florida.
“Her co-workers will remember Randi for always saying ‘good morning’ as she walked into the office — not to mention her highly organized management style and passion for good journalism. During her 20 years in the news business, she hired dozens of interns and helped launch many a career in journalism.”
Read more here.
Crashing the corner office
by Chris Roush
Neil Cavuto of Fox Business Network remembered legendary business journalist Dan Dorfman on the air Monday. Dorfman died this weekend at the age of 80.
To read what Cavuto said instead of watching the video, go here.
What Dorfman meant to biz journalism
by Chris Roush
Doug Kass of TheStreet.com writes Sunday about the influence of Dan Dorfman, a longtime business journalist who died Saturday, on the industry.
Kass writes, “Today’s business commentators — and an entire network, CNBC — owe Dan a lot, too. He paved their way and provided a template, in the early days, of ‘hard-hitting’ and ‘market-moving’ journalism. Just ask commentators such as Ron Insana, Dennis Gartman, Herb Greenberg, Bill Griffeth, Dan Kadlec as to the importance of his influence on their craft.
“His pedigree wasn’t fancy. He grew up in an orphanage. His early years were spent in West Hempstead, N.Y., the Long Island town next to Rockville Centre, where I grew up. He graduated from the New York School of Print the year that I was born, 1949.
“In the 1980s he was a featured commentator on CNN (often appearing with Myron Kandel) and eventually went to CNBC in the 1990s. Dan was also the influential author of The Wall Street Journal’s Heard on The Street Column’ in the 1980s. During his career he wrote for New York Magazine, Money, USA Today and The New York Sun, and his columns were syndicated around the world.
“In my view Dan was one of the most important contributors — arguably the most important and influential contributor — to the great success that CNBC holds today.”
Read more here.
Longtime biz journalist Dorfman dies
by Chris Roush
Business journalist Dan Doerfman, who worked at places such as The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Money magazine, the New York Daily News and USA Today and who had controversial relationships with sources, died Friday. He was 80.
David Wilson of Bloomberg News writes, “Dorfman began swaying share prices regularly at the Wall Street Journal, where he wrote the Heard on the Street column for six years. Stints with New York and Esquire magazines, the New York Daily News, USA Today and Cable News Network followed.
“His influence peaked in the 1990s, when he appeared daily on the CNBC cable network and earned at least $800,000 annually for his television and print reporting. He paved the way for TV pundits such as Jim Cramer, the former hedge-fund manager who hosts CNBC’s ‘Mad Money’ program.
“‘I always found him entertaining, but I always thought he was a negative force, not a positive one,’ Cramer wrote in 2006 for TheStreet.com. Dorfman ‘became so pressed for stories that I believe he had to compromise his own standards.’
“Money magazine, where Dorfman worked as a columnist, fired him in January 1996 as the government examined his relationship with a stock promoter. He suffered a stroke later that year and lost his position at CNBC.”
Read more here. And here is an interview with Dorfman I did in December 2008 — the interview from the business journalism history site that Wilson quotes twice in his story. For the last question, I asked him how he would like to be remembered. He said:
On my tombstone, I would like it to read, “Here lies Dan Dorfman, a reporter who cared.” All that I’ve tried to do is to give to the masses what was known to a chosen few. That was my contribution. I heard information, like the Time Warner offer, by a relatively few people, but after I reported it, it was known by everybody. “Dan Dorfman, a reporter who cared and who tried.” I think that’s good enough.
Burnett remembers CNBC’s Haines
by Chris Roush
Erin Burnett, who co-anchored with Mark Haines on CNBC for five years, remembers her former colleague, who died one year ago this week.
Remembering The Economist’s Peter David
by Chris Roush
The latest issue of The Economist has a tribute to its Washington bureau chief, Peter David, who died earlier this month in a car accident.
It states, “Had Peter David come to pen his parting thoughts, he might well have reflected on American exceptionalism. Sadly, this column must now celebrate his own.
“To begin with there was his range. From leaders to book reviews, Peter spread himself thick. He joined The Economist in 1984 to write about science, then became a specialist writer on the Middle East, ran the paper’s business sections, turned Bagehot columnist as political editor, took over as foreign editor (‘the job I’m told I’ve always wanted’) and in 2009 moved to Washington, DC. He wrote special reports on everything from Islam to international banking.
“Some great journalists venture boldly into war zones. Peter did that occasionally, but his forte was to stride fearlessly across minefields of ideas. Politicians who dabbled in demagoguery — a shameless attempt by William Hague, then Britain’s opposition leader, to exploit the killing of an intruder, or Newt Gingrich’s bluster over plans for a mosque near the site of the twin towers in New York — quickly found themselves under fire. Peter’s two-page cover editorials, such as on the eve of the first Gulf war (‘Don’t save this face‘, January 12th 1991) or on the latest crisis between Arabs and Jews (‘The hundred years’ war‘, January 10th 2009), were models of mind-clearing prose. He shunned the limelight and left behind no great tome — indeed, he was fond of mocking the one volume he did write, a coffee-table book on the first Gulf war called ‘Triumph in the Desert’ — yet few people did more to shape this newspaper’s views on the great issues of geopolitics over the past quarter-century.”
Read more here.
St. Louis Biz Journal reporter dies from pancreatic cancer
by Chris Roush
Rick Desloge, a reporter for the St. Louis Business Journal dating back to the 1980s, died Monday from pancreatic cancer. He was 63.
A story on the paper’s web site states, “Mr. Desloge, who had worked at the St. Louis Business Journal since 1984, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a year ago. He rarely missed a day during his treatment, covering his beats, writing his regular St. Louis Character feature, and doing his twice-daily Business Journal reports on KMOX radio until a month ago.
“What’s more, his office colleagues were amazed at his consistent good cheer. It seems odd to say that someone fighting such a serious illness was chipper, but chipper he often was. He could be heard at his desk talking on the phone with news source after news source, laughing, cajoling and enjoying the moment with someone he had no doubt known for years. And he had sources all over town, so there were a lot of calls to be made.
“He received his journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and at the Business Journal reported on law, accounting, banking, advertising and public relations, media, venture capital, transportation, aerospace and defense and a host of other industries. In 2001, he wrote and published ‘Hell on Keels: The Saga of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 12: A Story of Wooden Boats and Iron Men.’”
Read more here.
David, DC bureau chief for Economist, dies in car accident
by Chris Roush
Peter David, The Economist‘s Washington bureau chief and Lexington columnist, died in a car accident on Thursday night, reports Dylan Byers of Politico.
David writes, “David had been with the London-based magazine for 28 years. He became British political editor and Bagehot columnist in 1998 and then foreign editor in 2001, before assuming the D.C. bureau chief chair in 2009. As author of the Lexington column, he wrote frequently about U.S. politics and business.
‘He had worked at The Economist since 1984 and was a much-loved colleague and friend,’ the editors said in a statement on the magazine’s homepage. ‘We will pay fuller tribute to him in next week’s issue.’
“The car accident occurred last night at 9:45 p.m. on Interstate 64 in Albemarle County, Virginia, according to a report by the local NBC affiliate there. David was riding with three others, all of whom were taken to the University of Virginia Medical Center for treatment. The driver of the other car was charged with reckless driving. David was the only casualty. (The report incorrectly states David’s age as 70.)”
Read more here.
