From dream job at WSJ to new possibilities

Brett Savage-Simon of PRNewswire profiles former Wall Street Journal small business editor Colleen DeBaise, who left the her dream job at the paper to explore the rapidly developing business news world.

Simon writes, “After two years overseeing the print and online coverage of small business for the Journal, DeBaise made the tough decision to leave her ‘dream’ job.

“‘It was difficult to leave the Journal because that’s what I’d worked toward for my entire career,’ she said. ‘I was starting to feel like I was selling my soul in traditional journalism. I was sad for the profession but I was ready to leave it.’

“Her departure opened new doors and new possibilities. First at Entrepreneur.com, and now as director of digital media for The Story Exchange, a non-profit news organization that profiles female business owners through video and print stories that are picked up by the New York Times. It’s a small operation, but what excites DeBaise about it is that she is doing what she loves most – writing – without the advertising pressures that used to dictate her every move.

“‘I feel like this is a trend that has been happening ever since Paul Steiger left the Journal and started ProPublica. Now, we’re seeing it with Bill Keller and The Marshall Project,’ she adds. ‘I see privately funded non-profit news organizations as being the future of pure, quality journalism.'”

Read more here.