The business journalist as a brand

As the bridge between journalists and their readers continues to crumble, many feel an increased pressure to establish themselves as their own brand, and two columnists say that in order to be successful it is crucial to make one’s own identity.

“Once I figured out that my only job is to be authentically me, I blossomed,” Amy Dickinson said. Dickinson writes a syndicated advice column called “Ask Amy” that runs in more than 150 newspapers.

With the use of a Tumblr and Twitter page, Dickinson sends her advice column along with additional Q&As out to her readers personally, which she says makes a difference. “I like it because I do it all myself,” she said. “And it feels real because it is real.”

Dickerson was part of a panel at the Society of American Business Editors and Writers annual conference in Chicago. She added that readers respond better knowing the person who is writing the column is the person they are actually interacting with online.

Ron Lieber, the “Your Money” columnist for The New York Times (right), reiterated Dickinson’s support for building your online personality and added that having the power and support of a employer is also important in self promotion.

“’People are not here because of me they’re here because they think my middle name is New York Times columnist,’” he said, quoting the late columnist David Carr before adding. “When the wind of the institution is behind my back, it’s awesome when that happens.”

But Lieber added there are things a journalist can do to insure readers will stay with or without an institution behind him or her. For instance, he said that while social media seems to be a great connector, email remains a valuable source for creating long-standing and worthwhile connections between writers and readers.

Lieber said connecting through email also enables writers to get more engaged readers unlike Twitter which data indicates does a poor job of getting readers engaged for long periods.

“One thing that I wish I had done 10 or 20 years ago that I’ve started doing recently when I started this most recent book was I started collecting emails of anyone who wants to be on my list,” he said.

“And that’s going to be valuable to me no matter where I am or what I’m doing, and if one day I am forcibly removed from journalism to have those people who raised their hand and said they want to stay with me will be great.”

Dickinson said having a consistent group of readers to rely on is key to being a modern day journalist.

“The whole idea is that you want to create your own separate brand, so if you are torn away from your media home you take at least some of your readers with you.”

Meg Garner is a business journalism major at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication.