A business journalist who made a strong mark

Andrew Meacham of The St. Petersburg Times has a nice obituary of business journalist Carl Cronan, who died earlier this month at the age of 47.

Meacham writes, “He covered commercial real estate for the Gulf Coast Business Review, but also profiled entrepreneurs and new technology companies, making things like mergers and buyouts seem understandable to everyday consumers while keeping the business community informed.

“He didn’t just tell stories, he spotted trends.

“‘He was very intuitive in that he made sure the facts were accurate, that he made sure what the trends were in any particular market, and that he knew the right people to talk to because of the way he approached people personally,’ said David Sobelman, executive vice president of Calkain Cos., a commercial real estate firm.

“A Birmingham, Ala., native with the drawl to prove it, Mr. Cronan attended the University of Alabama with plans to become an electrical engineer.

“If he’d had his druthers, he’d have played guitar for a living. ‘But there’s no money in that unless your last name is Clapton or Mayer,’ he wrote on his Facebook page.”

Read more here.