Why WSJ’s Baer considers himself lucky

Russell Sherman of “Press Profiles” interviewed senior special writer Justin Baer of The Wall Street Journal about his career.

Baer covers the asset management beat, but he started his career in public relations for Ogilvy Adams & Rinehart.

“I consider myself very lucky to be able to do what I do,” he said. “And in large part because it is a lot of fun. And it should be fun. So, to the extent you want to pursue it, yes. Be mindful of the way the industry itself is still in this transition, but also seize on the best parts of the job.”

He joined Bloomberg News in 1999.

“It was not, [at] least with respect to the prestige and the scope of what they do now, it was a much smaller operation,” said Baer. “And people who were there even earlier than me would talk about when they would call people as they were reporting, they’re like, ‘What the hell is Bloomberg?’ There was another business that had Bloomberg in the name, you know, office furniture or something like that, so there was always confusion.”

Bear also worked at The Financial Times before joining The Journal in 2011, originally as investing editor.

“Some reporters, they wear their love of the markets, and of finance on their sleeve, and that’s great,” he said. “I’ve always been more though, someone who is, I guess, who just wants to share really interesting stories, and that there’s a specific world that I cover. And it’s interesting to me on an intellectual level, it’s always interesting talking to really smart people who know or have this profound expertise in something.”

To listen, go here.