OLD Media Moves

Fortune steals Primack away from Reuters

August 16, 2010

TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE

Dan Primack, editor-at-large with Thomson Reuters,  has given his notice with the wire service to take a job at Fortune.com, which is overhauling the financial part of its site to feature his work.

Primack is the creator and writer of the peHUB Wire, a daily e-mail publication from Reuters read by more than 58,000 subscribers. His personality really drives it, and he’s also a major draw for the Buyouts conference business. He’ll be performing the same task at Fortune, which is planning to launch a daily e-mail from Primack called “The Term Sheet,” according to Fortune.com managing editor Daniel Roth.

“What Dan brings to Fortune is obvious, which is great sources and great stories,” said Roth in a phone interview with Talking Biz News. “And what Fortune brings to Dan is a big audience and people who care about what he covers.”

Primack’s daily column has become mandatory private market reading, and he has given keynote addresses at events hosted by organizations that include Merrill Lynch, PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. He also appears regularly on CNBC, and has been quoted in such publications as BusinessWeek and TheStreet.com.

Roth said that Primack’s hiring coincides with the launch of a new section on Fortune.com called “Fortune Finance,” which will start on Sept. 7 and include news about Wall Street, private equity, mergers and acquisitions and economics. Also writing for the new section will be Duff McDonald, who wrote a biography of J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, and Fortune writer Colin Barr. CNBC anchor Becky Quick‘s column for Fortune will also appear on “Fortune Finance.”

Prior to hitting the private equity beat in 2000, Primack covered private debt for Private Placement Letter and served as editor and co-founder of The ‘Bury, a Roxbury, Mass.-based newspaper catering to teenagers and young adults. Primack is a graduate of Haverford College, with a degree in political science.

“Dan Primack is a guy that I have basically wanted to hire since I was at Portfolio,” said Roth. “I think his newsletter is just fantastic, and I am constantly getting it forwarded to me. He is a guy who really cares about the industry he covers.”

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