New to business column writing

TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE

Melissa Harris, who began writing the “Chicago Confidential” column for the business section of the Chicago Tribune in September, had no business background before she took the job.

Harris came to the Tribune from Baltimore, where she covered criminal justice for The Sun. Before that, she worked in Orlando.

Harris has a journalism degree from Northwestern University and a master’s in government from Johns Hopkins University. She plays the piano and loves Alfred Hitchcock and Meryl Streep movies.

In “Chicago Confidential,” Harris says she is trying to give Tribune readers the inside scoop on who’s up and who’s down in the business community, on who’s raising cash and who’s losing it and on who’s hanging with the powerful and who’s just hanging on.

The column always ends with her tag line, which includes a humorous twist.

Harris talked to Talking Biz News via e-mail about her column and how she has made the transition to the business news world. What follows is an edited transcript.

1. How did you make the switch from reporter to columnist?

Well, I have never been a business reporter. At the Baltimore Sun, I primarily covered criminal justice. At the Orlando Sentinel, I primarily covered local politics. So I’m having to learn not only how to be a columnist but also as much as possible about business.

2. How is it different than what you were doing beforehand?

It is a 180-degree difference. For nearly two years, I lived the life of the HBO television show The Wire. If I wanted to really know what was happening on my beat –courts — I’d spend time in Bloods territory on the city’s West side, observing the activity on the corners at night and knocking on doors during the day. I even told my then-boyfriend that if he was going to propose, that he must select a modest ring. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself, or give anyone the perception I was better than them. (We’re now married and the ring is modest and lovely.)

Now, in order to meet executives and civic leaders face-to-face, I attend galas, fundraisers, awards dinners, fashion shows and wine tastings. I lunch at private clubs. I go where they go, and I’ve had to replace most of my wardrobe to feel comfortable doing so. As reporters, we have to be chameleons.

3. How is it the same?

The skills are the same. You have to make your subjects feel comfortable. You have to be honest and ethical. You have to work hard. And you can’t give up when someone doesn’t return your phone call or declines to grant an interview. But in terms of subject matter or the world I move in, nothing is the same.

4. What’s the hardest part about writing a business column?

I think the most difficult part about writing any kind of column is that you must produce a story on Wednesday and Sunday (in my case) no matter what –- even when you have nothing to say. A former columnist at the Sun-Times once said at an event that she was relieved to move on to radio because she felt predatory -– anything of note that happened around her would become fodder for her column. Although I don’t feel predatory, I do feel that I’m working around the clock, as I may get a lead while waiting for a taxi or attending the ballet. Both have happened. So work never stops.

5. How do you decide on column topics?

I always appreciate suggestions from colleagues and my editors because I’m part of a team. But, for the most part, I get column topics from meeting people at events and listening to them tell stories. The column is really about people: who’s getting deals done, who’s lobbying whom, who’s losing money, who’s raking it in, who’s donating to whom, etc. So it’s almost entirely word of mouth. Sometimes I’ll pick up leads from trade publications, or I’ll take a different angle on a competitor’s story. Chicago has some great business journalists, and I’m honored to be in their company.

6. Since you write twice a week, does that give you more time to report a topic?

Given I’ve only been on the job for a few months and my column covers multiple topics, I don’t feel like I have a lot of time. Again, I’m facing a steep learning curve, but I believe it will get easier with time.

7. Do you feel comfortable inserting your opinion?

Not yet. My column is a hybrid of news and personality. In November, I’ll be writing one, more traditional column loaded with opinion. But it is on a topic that I’ve observed and studied for years. Maybe in a few more years, I’ll desire to become more opinionated, but for now, I’m content with finding good stories about people and telling them in the best way I can.

8. How much feedback do you get from readers vs. when you were writing news stories?

At my previous job, it would depend on the story, but now the feedback is constant, even surprising. Recently, I decided to launch a contest for readers to come up with creative, money-making ideas for the perennially broke Chicago Transit Authority, which runs the ‘L’ and bus systems. I received more than 100 entries, most of which contained five to 10 suggestions. Sorting through them all was a lot more time-consuming than I anticipated. The next time I run a contest, I’m going to limit readers to one idea per entry.

9. Although not a columnist, the recently departed David Greising often tackled important Chicago issues. Do you feel the need to fill that void?

Not at this moment, and that also won’t be up to me. Editors will make those calls. And as I said, I’m just beginning to learn Chicago, and business, and how to churn out copy in regular intervals, etc. David, whom I really admire, didn’t tackle important Chicago issues straight out of the gate. Right now, I need to exhibit similar patience and gradually earn readers’ respect.

10. What are you trying to accomplish with each column?

I want to break insider, get-everyone-in-town-talking news about business executives. (A tall order, given how insular that world is.) The second goal is to entertain, and even make people laugh. The most flattering compliment I could receive — and it’s probably the most common one I get — is when a reader tells me that the sign-off to my column, which always contains a smart-alecky quip, made them burst into laughter. That means they’ve read all the way to the end, and that also means that I’ve done my job.