Duane Stanford, who covers Coca-Cola Co. for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is leaving the paper to cover Coke and other beverage companies for Bloomberg News.
Stanford will continue to be based in Atlanta, according to Steve Matthews, who is Bloomberg’s Atlanta bureau chief. His beat will also include PepsiCo Inc., Starbucks and bottling companies such as Coca-Cola Enterprises.
In addition to Home Depot and UPS, the Coca-Cola beat is one of the most important at the Atlanta paper. (Disclosure: I covered Coke for the Atlanta paper from 1994 to 1997 and left to cover Coke for Bloomberg from 1997 to 1999.)
Stanford began covering Coca-Cola and the beverage industry for the Atlanta paper in October 2006. He has been a reporter at the newspaper since 1992, covering topics ranging from local government to the governor’s office and statewide transportation policy.
Stanford, born in Atlanta and raised in Memphis, came back to his hometown in the late 1980s to attend Oglethorpe University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree.
