Categories: OLD Media Moves

Making the switch from features to business

Mike Antonucci of the San Jose Mercury News writes on his blog about making the change from being aÂ pop culture writer on the feature’s deskÂ for the retail beat in the business department.

Antonucci wrote, “I really donâ€™t know what all the internal dynamics were â€” the beat was open following some recent layoffs â€” and I didnâ€™t dwell much on whether I wanted to make the switch. I just said yes more or less immediately.

“I wanted to be in the Biz section because of its high profile in Silicon Valley, and I knew it was time to do something different (for all the classic reasons regarding new challenges and a change of pace). Knowing Iâ€™d still be doing video podcasts on gaming, as well as blogging, sealed the deal for me motivationally.Â Â

“The retail beat is a big mix of topics, some of which have strong interest to gamers and will lead to crossover posts. For instance, Iâ€™ve already done a couple of stories on toy recalls, and most of the gamers I know are huge fans of storesâ€™ toy aisles. On the other hand, the column I did about shoppersâ€™ complaints about the Gap isnâ€™t the right fit for this space.”

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Nan Connolly says:
August 23, 2007 at 5:02 pm
I wish Mr. Antonucci, whom I don't know, luck with his new biz beat...but I wonder something. Would someone from metro be directed to, say, sports simply because "there's an opening?" Or switched without his or her request from writing a political col. to covering real estate and growth? This happens at smaller papers but a metro daily biz dept. isn't usually a training ground. Perhaps the downsizing we read about ceaselessly causes some of this musical chairs. And no doubt many reporters can hit the ground running and figure out the maze of small and large retailers, analysts, sales tax grosses and what they convey and so on. But with so few jobs out there and so much riding on giving readers the most complete biz report we can, every day, I wonder if filling slots this way best serves the newsroom.