Charlotte Business Journal finance editor says goodbye

Adam O’Daniel, the finance editor at the Charlotte Business Journal, writes on LinkedIn about his experience at the paper. He left at the end of last week.

O’Daniel writes, “The trend for years now has been for ex-reporters to bid farewell to the beleaguered news business with a list of their grievances, a sad tome about the good old days of ink-stained wretches churning out the daily news or exhortations on how to be more successful with the changing economics of the digital era. Most of them have valid points.

“My message is a bit different: Journalism — and most of it practiced here at the CBJ — has been a blessing to me. And I do mean blessing — a divine favor. It opened doors. It introduced me to interesting, intelligent and powerful people. It created the opportunities in front me. I learned more about business, government, community, even sports, in my time here than most people ever dare to discover.

“I come from a tiny town in South Carolina with no money, no pedigree and a public university education, paid for by a state lottery. My first byline appeared on the front page of the Winthrop University campus newspaper, The Johnsonian, in October of 2002. The Eagles won a conference title in men’s soccer, a sport I knew nothing about. But I when Franco Wakhisi (still remember that, no Google) scored the winning goal in extra time, my story jumped to the front page. I’ve got that clip somewhere. I’m sure the story is awful.”

Read more here.