Austin daily still seeking right personal finance columnist

Barry Harrell, the business editor of the Austin American-Statesman, writes about the paper’s search for a new personal finance columnist in the wake of the retirement of Scott Burns.

Harrell writes, “Some of you have been wondering: What’s the deal with the recent parade of personal finance columnists in the American-Statesman’s Sunday Business section?

“It’s a fair question, so here’s a deeper explanation for what are we doing with our Sunday Business section, why we are doing it — and what we are trying to accomplish.

“First, some background. Scott Burns, our longtime personal finance columnist, retired in January after decades as one of the nation’s best personal finance writers. Burns was a syndicated columnist, which means that — although he lives in Dripping Springs — he didn’t work directly for the Statesman, but for a provider of syndicated content.

“At Burns’ recommendation and with his endorsement, his syndicate transferred the personal finance column to Laurence Kotlikoff. As a Boston University economist and co-author of a number of books on personal finance, Kotlikoff has strong credentials. With that in mind, we decided to pick up his column for the Statesman, at least in the short-term, and see how our readers liked him.

“After more than two months of publishing Kotlikoff’s work, the response from our readers has been mixed. I’ve received hundreds of emails, and the breakdown has been almost dead even between ‘Keep Kotlikoff’ and ‘Anybody but Kotlikoff.'”

Read more here.