A dual newsroom/business role at Crain’s Detroit

Anna Clark of the Columbia Journalism Review interviewed Ron Fournier, who is joining Crain’s Detroit Business as associate publisher next month.

Here is an excerpt:

What do see as your newsroom role at Crain’s?

What I know about is that I’ll have a dual role, bringing my experience and background to an already really strong newsroom and doing what I can to make it even stronger. I’ll help Jennette Smith, a remarkable editor, run her newsroom. I love teaching and passing on what little I know.

And on the business side, I’ll be working with a great team and hopefully learning from a great team led by KC Crain. How often do you get to work for a third-generation owner of a hundred-year old company? They own like 55 publications, including Advertising Age, which I didn’t even realize was part of the Crain’s family. I’ll work directly with [publisher] Mary Kramer to grow the audience and make money so that we can support really good accountability journalism. How do you produce stories that move the needle journalistically?

I don’t know the city that well—it’s been a long time since I lived there—and I don’t know the business side of journalism, but this seems like a great way to learn about both.

Read more here.