Dow Jones restaurant writer to retire after 24 years

Dick Gibson, who has covered the restaurant and food industries for Dow Jones for more than two decades, is retiring next month, according to an e-mail from Dow Jonws Newswires managing editor Linda Fung.

Fung writes, “His plans include spending time at his Minnesota lake cottage as well as doing some free-lance writing and editing.Â

“Dick, who has been covering the restaurant and food industries for Dow Jones for more than two decades, spent the last nine years with Dow Jones Newswires after working at The Wall Street Journal in Chicago and Minneapolis since 1984. Dick has distinguished himself as a top-notch reporter with his exclusive and out-front reporting, having won the William R. Clabby Dow Jones Newswires Awards for journalism excellence for his coverage of McDonald’s and winning numerous Ace awards. Dick’s coverage of the nation’s restaurant chains has been consistently first and best. Dick has also served as a mentor to a number of junior reporters at Newswires and his experience and knowledge resonate throughout the newsroom.

“When asked several years ago what it was like to report from a place where almost all the roads run straight, Dick said, ‘Des Moines may be the hog, corn and insurance capital of the U.S., but no one would claim its restaurants have much stature. So covering the dining industry from here is a classic example of how reporting has changed in the electronic age. It doesn’t really matter where you are, as long as the power’s on. I do draw some perspective, however, by watching the blue jays, cardinals, sparrows and grackles at the feeder outside my home-office window.'”