Why a business reporter was asked to write a consumer column

Sean McDonnell

Chris Quinn, the editor of Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, writes about why he asked business reporter Sean McDonnell to write a consumer column focused on saving money.

Quinn writes, “Sean seemed an ideal candidate. He’s a new homeowner, dealing with the challenges of painting and repairs, as well as arranging for utilities, broadband and television services. The early years of owning a home crimp the budget, so Sean was already looking at ways to make his cash do more.

“Sean had some initial concerns about writing such a column in the first person after having written for years in the dispassionate voice of a news reporter, but he needn’t have worried. He established a welcoming voice from the start, opening the first column with some advice his father gave him.

“The column is called Saving You Money, and it began two months ago, appropriately with a piece on learning how to do home repairs yourself. He focused on non-profit agencies that teach and sometimes lend tools for homeowners willing to use elbow grease to avoid paying professionals.”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.