Two senior BW writers focusing on science/medicine take buyout

TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE

Two of the top business journalists at BusinessWeek magazine — Catherine Arnst and John Carey — have accepted buyout offers from the magazine and are leaving the publication.

Their departures are on top of those laid off on Thursday in a wide-sweeping overhaul under new editor Josh Tyrangiel that is expected to culminate with a redesigned magazine released next month. BusinessWeek was purchased by Bloomberg L.P. in December.

Arnst, who had been at the magazine for the past 17 years, including the past 12 covering science and medicine, said she has no definite plans. She said she voluntarily asked for the buyout.

In a goodbye note to her colleagues, Arnst wrote, “I had a lot of fun here, wrote some great stories and got to travel to Orlando innumerable times for medical meetings.”

Prior to joining the magazine, Arnst spent three years as the European science correspondent for Reuters News Service, based in London. She also worked for Reuters as the Boston correspondent, specializing in science and medicine, and as a general assignment reporter in New York.

Arnst won the 2004 Business Journalist of the Year award from London’s World Leadership Forum and in 2003 was the first recipient of the ACE Reporter Award from the European School of Oncology for a five-year body of work on cancer. She has also won awards from the Overseas Press Club, the New York Newswomen of New York and the Computer Press Association.

Carey also took the voluntary buyout. He has been a senior correspondent for BusinessWeek, covering science, technology, medicine, health, and the environment for since 1989. Prior to BusinessWeek, Carey was an editor of The Scientist and a writer and editor for National & International Wildlife magazines. He spent six years at Newsweek. He has won awards from the Deadline Club, the American Institute of Biological Sciences, the Overseas Press Club, and the Aviation & Space Writers Association.

DISCLOSURE: I worked with Carey and Arnst at BusinessWeek from 1993 to 1994.