Michael Dinan of the New Canaanite in Connecticut interviewed legendary Fortune business journalist Carol Loomis about her career.
Here is an excerpt:
You came out of the University of Missouri in 1951 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, and launched what would become a celebrated career as a financial journalist soon after. I’m curious to know what drew you to the study and field of journalism in the first place, and also what areas within journalism other than finance may have attracted you to reporting in the early going—community, sports, features, or something else—or was it always business and finance specifically?
Growing up in Cole Camp, Missouri, I did a lot of reading as a kid, and writing interested me, too. I also had a grandfather who wrote a novel—and perhaps that encouraged me to think I might write someday as well. It couldn’t have hurt that the best-known school of journalism in the U.S. is at the University of Missouri. As you noted, I graduated from there in 1951, with a Bachelor of Journalism degree. I can’t claim to have been wildly interested in business and finance when I was in college. But my first job (and only job other than at Fortune) was at the Maytag Company, where I was editor of a magazine for Maytag dealers. (Being editor of this 24-page monthly magazine meant writing everything in it, taking all the pictures with a Speech Graphic, and laying it out). So I ran around the country interviewing successful Maytag dealers and that’s when I got interested in business. And my experience at Maytag was valuable when I walked into Fortune looking for a job.
Read more here.
