What a PR person learned from a business reporter

Melinda Williams, a public relations executive in suburban Philadelphia, writes about what she learned from Daily Local News business reporter Gretchen Metz, who died last week from pancreatic cancer.

Williams writes, “Since most of my public relations accounts in Chester County fell into the business category, I had the opportunity to get to know the Business Editor Brian McCullough and his senior reporter, Gretchen Metz, pretty well. Over the last 10 years, Brian and Gretchen have worked on stories that involved my clients, and their breadth of knowledge and scope never failed to amaze me.

“On occasion, we’d have the opportunity to sit together over a cup of coffee and chat about the state of local business in Chester County. Inevitably, questions would start percolating out of me and Gretchen would have to answer them. I would ask her things such as, ‘Who is moving into the old Genuardi’s store?’ Or, ‘Why is that store closed?’ Or, ‘What happened to the head of that company?’ Inevitably, Gretchen would always know the answers. And if she didn’t know something, Brian certainly did.

“I have an incredible amount of respect for these newspaper people who have weathered many storms, both professional and personal. Through them, I discovered a newfound respect for what it meant to be a reporter. Previously, from my ‘big-city newspaper experience,’ I thought being a great reporter meant being above the crowd and above the fray. It meant being an observer, on a high perch, able to comment and report on the events. Through Gretchen, I found that being a true reporter meant to get down and dirty, right in the thick of things. It meant never being afraid to mix with the masses, listen to the people who mattered most and on more than one occasion, get your hands dirty, figuratively and literally.

“I recall she had this great column a few years back called ‘Put Gretchen to Work.’ Offbeat companies would call up and ask to have Gretchen work with them for a day and then report on it. Consider it a distant forerunner to the TV Show, ‘Dirty Jobs,’ with Mike Rowe. I remember reading about Gretchen’s experience working at a car wash, on a dairy farm, at a quick lube station, and even with the man who picks up road refuse on the side of the highway. It was truly an eye-opener and usually pretty, pretty funny.”

Read more here.