Miami business editor says goodbye

Lisa Gibbs, the Miami Herald business editor, says goodbye to the paper’s business section readers on Monday as she returns to Money magazine, where she worked before joining the Herald.

Gibbs writes, “I feel like most of my time here has been spent on two H-words: hurricanes and housing. When I walked into the Herald newsroom in September 2004, it was right after Hurricane Frances. From that busy season through the wallop of Katrina and Wilma, covering the impact of those storms on gas, insurance, electricity and really just about everything occupied a fair portion of our energy.

“But of course the big story was real estate. I recall being amazed at the nearly-daily announcements of yet one more towering condo and this sense permeating water-cooler chat everywhere that we were all getting rich.

“Well, we all know how that story ended. And now the free-fall in housing prices has become intertwined with a global recession, and figuring out the twists and turns of how those factors are rippling across South Florida is our challenge and obsession.

“One of the hardest tasks at a daily operation like ours is to report fully the breaking news while aiming to go beyond the headlines and put the news in context. It’s interesting: A few years ago, we were alternately criticized for not being positive enough, and for cheerleading the boom. Then we were criticized for ‘killing the market’ with ‘negative’ reporting. I guess all of those gripes are potentially valid, depending on your perspective.”

Read more here.