PIRG hires personal finance columnist Murray

Teresa Dixon Murray, who had been writing the “Money Matters” column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, has been hired to be the new director of the Consumer Watchdog program for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), a non-profit based in Washington D.C.

“The position should be a lot fun and it scratches my consumer-advocacy itch,” said Murray in a message. “I am very blessed.”

The program is non-partisan and focuses on a wide range of issues that threaten Americans’ health, safety and financial security. The Watchdog office works to educate people and it deals with issues that involve banks, toy manufacturers, food producers, COVID scammers, auto dealers, medication providers, insurance companies, airlines, etc.

A lot of the job involves writing, editing and research, as well as producing short educational videos and consumer tip guides.

“They decided they wanted an investigative journalist who specialized in consumer issues,” said Murray.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.