NYT personal tech editor to join Bloomberg Businessweek

Sam Grobart, the personal technology editor at the New York Times, is leaving the paper’s business section to work at Bloomberg Businessweek.

Larry Ingrassia, the Times business editor, sent out the following memo to the staff on Thursday:

We are sorry to tell you that Sam Grobart has accepted an offer from Bloomberg BusinessWeek to develop multimedia projects and write features on technology and other topics.

We will of course miss Sam. He joined The Times as the personal technology editor in August 2008. His innate sense of good service journalism helped us create the Gadgetwise blog, which focused on how to get the most out of personal technology. He was also instrumental in developing the look and tone of the Bits blog.

More recently he started his own column, Tool Kit, to offer advice on personal tech and he helmed the new Wednesday Tech video show with uncanny skill and presence. Sam may be best remembered for his clever tech videos, like the one where he broke up with his point-and-shoot camera in Bryant Park because with his cell phone’s camera, he no longer needed it.

A fountain of wonderful ideas, he also won a Sabew award and was a Loeb award finalist for the Pogue-o-matic interactive multimedia project for a holiday gift guide, and he was a behind-the-scene force in the Steve Jobs interactive packages The Times developed.

Sam’s last day at The Times will be Aug. 3. We wish him the best in his new endeavor.