Paul Ericson, the editor of the Rochester Business Journal, writes about the hiring of Scott Pitoniak to write a regular sports column for the New York paper.
Ericson writes, “I didn’t meet Scott until this year’s Rochester Press-Radio Club dinner, where Rick was honored posthumously with the George Beahon Award. A short time later, during planning for our PGA Championship supplement, I reached out to see if Scott would like to contribute to it. He readily agreed, writing three great pieces. After that, the idea of a weekly column naturally followed.
“During a conversation with Scott about the column, I’d recalled that Rick initially had written only for our then-fledgling website. When we added him to the paper a short time later, I felt it necessary to explain to readers why a sports column belonged in a business newspaper. It now seems almost laughable, but back then, most business publications stuck strictly to business.
“I could use the same rationale now with Scott that I used then with Rick: Many businesspeople have an avid interest in sports, and sports itself is a business. Both points are just as true today. But as with Rick, the chief reason we’re adding Scott as a weekly columnist is this: He’s a great writer, and we want our readers to have the chance to enjoy his work.”
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