Akron biz editor joins PR firm

David Hertz, the business editor of the Akron Beacon Journal, is becoming a vice president at Cleveland-based Dix & Eaton public relations, according to a press release issued Tuesday.

The release stated, “Before joining Dix & Eaton, Hertz worked in several editing roles at the Akron Beacon Journal, including metro editor, region editor, enterprise editor and business editor. As business editor, he oversaw award-winning coverage of the sales of Maytag and the Hoover Co., as well as the latest version of Outlook, a special report examining the local economy.

“Hertz proposed and helped organize the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation into race relations in the Akron region, resulting in the Coming Together Project, which examines local race relations. He also edited several other award-winning efforts, including coverage of B.F. Goodrich’s decision to leave Akron, a series on Akron-area couples who secretly purchased newborns from a Georgia doctor and a series on the plight of gay teens.

“During his three years as metro editor, the Beacon Journal covered such stories as Sept. 11 and its fallout, and the murders of Theresa Andrews in Ravenna and Kristen Jackson in Wooster. As enterprise editor, Hertz helped create a storytelling culture that included a narrative writing group. His efforts to bring narrative to the newsroom are chronicled on the Neiman Foundation for Journalism’s Web site at Harvard University.”

Read more here.