Biz Buzz for September 2007: Changes in San Fran and Pittsburgh

By Chris Roush croush@email.unc.edu

HEARTS LEAVING SAN FRAN CHRONICLE

Changes at the San Francisco Chronicle’s business desk leave the paper with a new business editor and searching for a new columnist.

Ken Howe, the biz editor, (right) leaves to pursue interests in Hong Kong, where he had recently visited on a fellowship.

“About a year ago I went to China on a short fellowship with the East West Center in Honolulu,” says Howe. “It’s a cliche to say it, but it was a life-changing experience.

“I was astonished to see such a rapid, massive transformation of a country. It’s not as if I didn’t know this, but witnessing it is another thing entirely. And I instantly realized that, while I knew little of the culture and nothing of the language, I had an excellent background – in banking, finance, real estate, economics and public policy – to explore, understand and explain what was going on.”

He is being replaced by Alan Saracevic, (left) the former deputy biz editor. Suzanne Herel from the paper's continuous news desk replaces Saracevic as deputy biz editor.

In addition, biz columnist David Lazarus leaves the paper to become a biz columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Also moving to the Times is colleague Jessica Guynn. She will remain in San Francisco in the Times’ bureau there.

Also leaving the section are long-time media and tech writer Dan Fost, who took the paper’s buyout offer, as well as assistant business editor David Tong. In addition, reporters Ben Pimentel and Pia Sarkar have left. Pimentel takes a job at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, while Sarkar moves to TheStreet.com.

STEEL CITY CHANGES

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette names Brian Hyslop biz editor, effective in late July. The announcement removes the “interim” from his title.

Hyslop has been at the Post-Gazette for 14 years, most recently as associate biz editor. He worked as associate features editor before that. Hyslop had replaced former biz editor Steve Massey, who became AME/features at the paper, earlier this year on an interim basis.

“It’s important for our business section to blend breaking news with enterprising features,” Hyslop tells Biz Buzz. “We cover companies and industries but we need to go beyond that and write engaging stories about the way we live -- especially here in Pittsburgh -- and how business is part of our lives. I think we’ll be writing more stories that look at the news and trends through the perspective of their impact on our lives.”

R.J. Hufnagel becomes associate biz editor. Hufnagel, a Penn State graduate, has been a copy editor and a page designer on the biz desk.

Hufnagel has worked at the Post-Gazette for 10 years, as a copy editor/page designer in the biz department for the past three years, and as a copy editor/page designer on the local desk from 1997 to 2004.

BOSS WATCH

Mark Truby, (right) the biz editor of the Detroit News, leaves to become director of global corporate news at the Ford Motor Co…Jim Bates, the deputy editor on the entertainment and tech team of the Los Angeles Times’ biz section, leaves for a PR job at Sitrick & Co…Justin Gillis, the economics editor of The Washington Post, leaves to join the New York Times’ biz desk as the editor overseeing energy, agriculture and retailing…Jack Reerink becomes editor of company news at Reuters. He was acting treasury news editor in Asia…Joshua Palmer, an education writer for the past two years, becomes biz editor at the Twins Falls Times-News in Idaho…Timothy Burn becomes associate editor of the Washington Business Journal. He had been at Washington Smart CEO magazine. Also at the paper, Roger Hughlett becomes AME. Hughlett had been news editor…Former Memphis Commercial-Appeal biz editor Sonny Albarado joins the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette as projects editor…Liz Heitzman, the biz editor of the Columbia Tribune in Missouri, leaves for a fellowship at the University of Missouri...Drew Voros becomes AME/business for Bay Area Newspaper Group/East Bay. He will be responsible for business coverage and production for the newspapers in the group that include the Contra Costa Times, The Oakland Tribune, The (Fremont) Argus, The (Hayward) Daily Review, The Tri-Valley Herald in Pleasanton and the San Mateo County Times. Voros, based in Walnut Creek, has previously served as biz editor for the Contra Costa Times.

UPPER EAST SIDE

Rebecca Dana (left) joins The Wall Street Journal to cover the media industry. She had been covering media for The New York Observer. Also, Troy McCullough joins The Journal as an interactive news writer. He was continuous news editor at the Baltimore Sun…Tara Siegel Bernard, previously news editor for CNBC, joins the personal finance news joint venture between Dow Jones & Co. and IAC as a senior editor…Boston Globe reporter Ross Kerber, who has covered financial services, adds banking to his beat. Keith Reed, who had covered banking, becomes a general assignment reporter on the biz desk and will also cover the business of sports…Reporter Brett Burkey joins the York (Pa.) Daily Record’s biz desk after covering cops and City Hall…Julie Satow, previously a senior reporter for Crain’s New York Business covering real estate, joins The New York Sun to be editor of the real estate and business sections. She is replaced by Theresa Agovino, a former AP reporter who covered health care…Kevin Kingsbury becomes assistant news editor for the rewrite desk at Dow Jones Newswires. Kingsbury has taken a role in the creation of the new desk, officially launched in January, and is a key lieutenant for WSJ news editor Jeff Sutherland, who heads the desk. In addition, Danielle LeGrand becomes a copy editor at Dow Jones Newswires after being a copy reader since last September, and Rupini Bergstrom joins the wire service’s financial news team, rejoining Dow Jones after a three-year hiatus at the Financial Times and a brief stint in PR…Robin Cooper joins the Albany Business Review in upstate New York to cover economics, education and Saratoga County...Jesse Noyes leaves the Boston Herald's biz desk, where he covered advertising, to join the Boston Business Journal as a reporter covering higher ed and startups.

DOWN SOUTH

Beth Kassab, (left) a biz reporter at the Orlando Sentinel for the past seven years, becomes its business columnist. She replaces friend Susan Strother Clarke, who died unexpectedly last year. Reporter Jason Garcia moves from covering the Florida governor’s office and statehouse to Kassab’s former beats of tourism, aviation, travel and conventions...Reporter Will Edwards, who worked for Bloomberg News in both its Atlanta and Charlotte offices, leaves for a job at Neusner Communications in Washington, D.C. It's run by former Bloomberg Fed reporter Noam Neusner...Monica Chen becomes the new biz editor at The Herald-Sun in Durham, N.C.

MIDWEST MOVES

John Pletz joins Crain’s Chicago Business as a senior reporter covering the aviation and tech beat, which includes United Airlines and Motorola. He’s been assistant biz editor at the Indianapolis Star since last year and spent the previous seven years as a biz editor and reporter at the Austin American-Statesman…Collin Smith joins the Craig Daily Press in Colorado as a government and biz reporter…Dave Michaels joins the Dallas Morning News to cover business and economic issues out of Washington, D.C.

WAY OUT WEST

Matt Ward becomes the new editor of the Las Vegas Business Press. He is a University of Texas at Arlington graduate in 2002 who has been with the Business Press since October 2006. He replaces Ian Mylchreest, who left the weekly. Previously Ward worked in Las Vegas as ME of the Global Gaming Business/Casino Connection/PokerBiz magazines. His position as reporter has not been filled yet…Robbie Dingeman at the Honolulu Advertiser ends her “Bureaucracy Buster” column that ran in local news and will start a new business section column this fall…Brent Woodard becomes AME at the New Mexico Business Weekly, an American City Business Journals publication. Also, special sections editor Megan Kamerick becomes a reporter covering tourism, retail and nonprofits, and Tom O’Connell joins the paper to cover commercial and residential real estate…Tom Risen joins the Santa Barbara News Press as a biz reporter.

GLOSSY GOINGS ON

Doug McWhirter becomes executive editor of Worth magazine. He had been features editor…Jeff Garigliano joins Conde Nast Portfolio as a senior editor. He had been executive editor of Departures magazine. Also, Peter Waldman leaves the Wall Street Journal to become a senior writer for Portfolio. And deputy editor Jim Impoco and senior writer Kurt Eichenwald leave the magazine…Michael Freedman, an associate editor at Forbes, leaves to join Newsweek…Jennifer Schenker joins BusinessWeek in its Paris bureau. She had been international editor for Red Herring…Kate Crane becomes an associate editor at Smart Money. She had been a copy editor…Lorraine Woellert leaves BusinessWeek to become a reporter in Bloomberg’s D.C. bureau...Renuka Rayasam leaves U.S. News & World Report, where she covered small biz, for a job at Fortune Small Business covering public policy.

ONLINE ONGOINGS

Mike DeSenne becomes executive editor at SmartMoney.com. He most recently was deputy editor…Allen Wastler joins CNBC as ME of CNBC.com. Wastler was ME of CNNMoney.com, a joint venture between CNN and Time Inc., where he oversaw all editorial and content production. Before that, Wastler was ME of CNNfn.com...Elizabeth Corcoran becomes technology channel editor at Forbes.com. She previously was a contributing editor for the print magazine...Arlyn Gajilan joins Newsweek.com as biz and technology editor. She had been at Portfolio.com.

ON THE AIRWAVES

Liz Claman, (right) who anchored the “Morning Call” show on CNBC, leaves in mid-July, but has not announced her next job. Meanwhile, Matt Nesto joins CNBC as a general assignment reporter. He had been the anchor of Bloomberg TV’s “Morning Call” program…Bill McCandless, a former senior producer at CNBC, joins TheStreet.com as executive editor of multimedia. The role is a position created as part of the web site’s plan to expand its multimedia offerings.

ON CAMPUS

Forbes Midwest bureau chief Mark Tatge (right) becomes the E.W. Scripps Visiting Professor at Ohio University’s journalism program. Tatge is charged with creating a business journalism program at the Athens, Ohio-based school. He will continue to contribute to the biz glossy. Tatge had previously taught at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism as an adjunct instructor.

THE ENVELOPE, PLEASE

Builder Magazine and Public CIO took honors as the Magazines of the Year, and PCWorld.com was named Web Publication of the Year at the 29th Annual Azbee Awards of Excellence from the American Society of Business Publication Editors. The group’s Stephen Barr Award for feature writing went to David McClintick, an investigative reporter, for his feature article “How Harvard Lost Russia” in the January 2006 Institutional Investor. McClintick examined Harvard University’s disastrous contract to help privatize financial markets in parts of the former Soviet Union.

IN MEMORIUM

John Leykam, the business editor at the Contra Costa Times in the 1980s, dies at the age of 63 after battling cancer…Roger Gribble, a longtime reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal who covered business during the later part of his career, dies from cancer at the age of 75.

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Posted Aug. 27, 2007