Assistant biz editor leaving Raleigh paper

TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE

Business and government editor Mary Cornatzer of The (Raleigh) News & Observer sent out the following staff announcement on Wednesday:

It is with much sadness that I announce Alan Wolf is leaving the paper.

Alan came here in 1998 when I was a very large scary pregnant lady. Luckily, he doesn’t scare easily. It wasn’t until I came back from maternity leave that I got to know Alan and found out that he has truly been one of Dan Barkin‘s best hires. After not quite two years on the desk covering health care, he became an assistant business editor, replacing me as the editor of Work & Money and Connect. He quickly became so much more.

He blogs, he writes, he edits. He breaks news. He is as David Bracken likes to say a machine. He knows business better than anyone I know. He has gained the respect of countless CEOs and business owners with his knowledge and his balanced reporting. Recently we’ve seen that in his coverage of WakeMed and Rex  hospitals, but it has been true throughout his career here. The list of his stories and triumphs are long.

But none of those things are the reasons we will feel his loss so deeply. When you work with someone a long time they become more than a co-worker and better than family.  They become part of the fabric of your life. Alan has done that.  Because of that — even as I mourn his departure — I wish him the best in his new adventure. He will become communications director for Rex Hospital in mid September.

Alan’s last day here will be Sept. 9. There will be cake, there will be alcohol. There may even be a wake.  In the meantime, please join me in wishing him the best.