Leckey to step away from syndicated column

Starting in January, Andrew Leckey will no longer write his investing column for Tribune Media Services, which has carried it for more than 26 years, so that he can focus on his efforts as president of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism at Arizona State University.

His column, called “Successful Investing,” has included straightforward investment strategies and informative commentary. Twice each week, in alternating Q&A and essay style, Leckey offered sound advice to readers on a wide range of personal finance and investment issues. His column drew a large volume of reader mail.

In an e-mail to Talking Biz News, Leckey wrote, “Growing up in Chicago, touring the Tribune newsroom as a high school newspaper editor and then becoming a long-time syndicated investment columnist for it was a journalist’s dream. While I have other responsibilities now, I appreciate the opportunity given me to connect with so many wonderful readers around the country and I wish the company great future success.”

“The Distinguished Service Award in Investment Education” was presented to Leckey by the National Association of Investors Corp., which has thousands of investment clubs around the world. for the column. He has won numerous other local and national writing awards.

Leckey’s financial journalism experience includes being an anchor on CNBC television and contributing editor to the Quicken.com Web site. The author or editor of 10 books on business and investment topics, Leckey was series editor of the annual anthology “The Best Business Stories of the Year” from Random House.

Other books, such as “The Lack of Money Is the Root of All Evil: Mark Twain’s Timeless Wisdom on Money and Wealth for Today’s Investor” from Prentice Hall Press, have been translated into foreign language editions around the world.

The Reynolds Center  conducts workshops around the country on business journalism topics and runs the BusinessJournalism.org Web site specifically geared to the needs of business journalists.

Leckey also served as the first director of the Bloomberg Business Journalism Program at the University of California, Berkeley, and was a visiting professor in business journalism at Boston University. He was a Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Economics and Business Journalism and a fellow of The Media Studies Center, both at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He now serves on the Knight-Bagehot Fellowship advisory committee.