Biz reporters change beats at Atlanta daily

TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE

Chris Quinn, who has been covering the state Senate, Cherokee County and other news at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, will be starting as its residential real estate reporter, according to business editor Matt Kempner.

He replaces Michelle Shaw, who had earlier shifted from the residential real estate beat to cover the suburbs of Dunwoody and Sandy Springs.

Quinn has been at the paper since 1999. Before that, he spent 11 years at the Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina.

Also, Kristi Swartz, a former business reporter who more recently has covered breaking news for ajc.com, will become a business general assignment reporter, with sub-beats that include utilities and telecom.

Swartz has been at the paper since 2008. She previously spent four-and-a-half years on the business desk of the Palm Beach Post and four years at the Winston-Salem paper.

Utilities and telecom had previously been covered by Margaret Newkirk, who now works for Bloomberg in Atlanta.