What an intriguing voicemail, I thought.
I looked down at the scribbles on my reporter notepad. “Hey Scott,” I said to my editor, “I just got the strangest message. There’s this investment bank that is looking to hire someone to do corporate research, and they got my name.”
Scott didn’t miss a beat: “Call him back.”
I Googled the firm and the stock analyst who’d left the voicemail. He’d been recently quoted in Forbes. I called him back.
That was about one month ago. Fast forward to now. August 12 will be my last day reporting and writing for seattlepi.com. In a few weeks, I will start as a research associate at the investment bank.
If you’d told me last year – nay, last quarter – that I’d quit my journalism job to go work for an investment bank, I would have said, “Get out.” (At least, that was the reaction of my former business editor Margaret when she heard the news, followed by, “Congratulations!”)
But then again, a lot has happened in the past year that I wouldn’t have thought possible. First, I attended the inauguration of the first black president and sat near the front row. Then, Lady Fortune came out of nowhere, took a big swig of liquid economy, picked up the baseball bat marked “career,” and whacked most of my friends. My newspaper shut down. WaMu disappeared. Back to the point. . .
I’m excited about this transition into a world to which I’m already connected. Often when a business stumps me with some change of direction or unique accounting charge, I turn to analyst experts for help. After about six years of covering the markets and business, now I get to learn what makes Wall Street analysts tick. I never could resist the allure of learning new things!
And so, off I go.
Journalism asks: How can you leave me?
Please do not interpret my leaving seattlepi.com as foreboding about the news site’s future. The Web site commands a high readership and from what I hear from management, the already robust content will get fuller and better with each new partnership and added revenue stream.
Journalism industry watchers would do well to keep an eye on Seattle’s online journalism experiments, from what Hearst is doing at seattlepi.com to the rise of community news blogs that are rich with engagement.
Journalism is a rapidly changing industry, and for the past few years, I’ve had a front row seat.
The future will include more democratization of data, more citizen engagement, more unpaid writers, fewer generalists, more amateurs with fan followings, a greater appreciation for quality business reporting, and a whittling down of traditional journalistic authority against the rise of the niche-hobbyist-turned-pro.
The notion of journalists as gatekeepers is obsolete — those who pridefully struggle to hold onto that antiquated view will watch helplessly as information flows around, over and beneath the gates. Those who humbly embrace these changes will become the new stars, appreciated for their ability to generate unique content while at the same time navigating and making sense of the information flow.
Since journalists make a living out of calling people out on their contradictory statements, it’s only fair that I share mine. Before my newspaper stopped printing, I made some public declarations about how I was loathe to leave journalism.
I told Jon Friedman at CBS MarketWatch that, “I feel like I was born to do this work. I’m so curious. Give me a job where I can get paid to be nosy as hell, get my curiosity satisfied and write every day. I can’t imagine going into another field.”
And I declared via the Columbia Journalism Review that, “Journalism is just too much fun to give up. Even now. I’ve seen job openings in other fields, but I don’t want another type of job. I love learning new things. I like questioning authority and calling b.s. when I see it. I’m nosy as hell, and paid to be.”
Here’s what I think now, given the present flux in media: Trying new things maintains career growth and passion. And the same personal qualities that led me to pursue journalism — a love of writing, a desire to understand and make sense of how the world works — are what intrigue me about investment research. In short, I’ll still get paid to ask questions.
I’m not going away forever; my media connections are deep and I’ve loved the business, even as it was breaking my heart. Just last week, for example, I was scheduled to speak to a class of journalism students at my undergraduate alma mater, but had to cancel when duty called. So, I won’t disappear for good, but I do intend to keep my head down well into the near future to learn the ropes and immerse myself in this new adventure!
Please stay in touch. After a six-month training period, I hope to set up shop back here in Seattle.
One more reflection:
Covering Seattle business has been a blast. Each day I’m reminded of how lucky I have been to chronicle the stories of our corporations, large and small, and the workers who are each threads in the tapestry of this iconic city.
The days leading up to my recent interview were a perfect example of how Seattle innovation has spread:
Wanting to look the part for my interview, I strolled into Nordstrom for assistance on buying the right outfit and shoes. Then, I flew from Sea-Tac to the Twin Cities on a Boeing 757. Once there, a placard in my hotel room declared that the coffee pot “proudly” brews Starbucks. And I was slugging a Microsoft product over my shoulder the whole way: my laptop runs Windows Vista.
I’ll be checking seattlepi.com to stay on top of all of Seattle’s news. I hope you do too.
Cheers and onward.
Update: August 11, 2009: I’ve posted a goodbye to the Seattle P-I’s aerospace blog. Read it here.
Andrea, I’m sad to hear this, because it means the Seattle journalism scene and Seattlepi.com just lost one of its brightest up-and-comers. But I’m sure you’re going to find this to be a thrilling new challenge, and one that you’re going to excel at. The job of a stock analyst requires many of the same skills you have been honing on the business beat.
Congratulations Andrea. You’ve worked very hard, so if this is a better position you certainly have earned it!!!!!!!
Hey Andrea!
Thrilled to see this on Poynter. We are allowed to have second, third, fourth acts. Have fun and keep us posted on the newest chapter.
Em
http://littlehousesouthernprairie.wordpress.com/
Welcome (soon) to Minneapolis St Paul. If you’re interested, please send an email when you are in place here. I am Best Buy’s recent head of emerging media and liaison to the venture capital industry. With other local ventures folks, we host a monthly breakfast on emerging topics in disruptive innovation, especially digital media, and bring in guest speakers from VC-backed companies on the coasts. Would like to send you an invitation. Kim G.
Hey Andrea!
Welcome to the Twin Cities! I’m a journalist and I relocated to St Paul from Seattle last year. I think you’ll find some differences (weather extremes, accents) but a lot of similarities (smart and curious people, lots of culture). Hope you enjoy it here and good luck in the next chapter.
jm
Wow, congrats, Andrea, and good luck! The business news world will be poorer without you in it.
Thunderstruck that one of the most passionate & talented young reporters I’ve known is leaving journalism: http://bit.ly/662aL #paperdoom
“Trying new things maintains career growth and passion.” Leaving journalism for…investment banking http://bit.ly/662aL (expand) (v @franzstrasser)
rt @journerdism Very good post by talented young reporter leaving journalism: http://bit.ly/662aL (via @Journerdism)
rt @journerdism good post by young reporter leaving journalism: http://bit.ly/662aL Me: excellent point about pride and antiquated views
Investment banking for journalists? rt @journerdism Very good post by talented young reporter leaving journalism: http://bit.ly/662aL
Juxtaposition: Tommy Tomlinson on pal The Poz to SI: http://ttomlinson.blogspot.com/2009/08/local-boy-does-good.html (contract) and a young journalist on why she’s leaving: http://andreajames.net/how_could_i_leave_journalism/
Welcome to the Twin Cities – it’s as great an area as Seattle (just switch rain for snow!) I teach an information strategies class at the University of Minnesota and it would be great to have you come over and talk about the differences (and similarities) between journalist and corporate research. And if you need any advice or insights about life in the area, let me know!
Hello. Thank you for this great info! Keep up the good job!
thank you! I really liked this post!
interesting stuff!
Congrats to you. We don’t know each other but I have followed your reporting on Boeing. Many have said it is sad to see people leaving the industry, and I agree. But on the other hand congrats to Dougherty & Co. for seeing your value, and the value of the skills that you have learned on the job. Journalism is changing, but the skills it demands are only growing more important.
Good luck.
Andrea, this is exciting news. A big loss for the P-I, but I’m thrilled for you. Good luck in the Twin Cities!
Andrea, Thanks for the excellent job you did at covering Boeing / aerosapce news. I always kept your twitter post’s open in the corner of my monitor, as it gave me very up to the minute, accurate news that is crucial to the success of the local, as well as global aeorspace business. I’m glad we had a chance to finally meet in person a the Snohomish County Aerospace Summit last week. Best of luck in your new position.
Congratulations on this great opportunity – see you back in Seattle in about six months!
Gonna miss you, you hot little thang!
Best of luck AJ! They are lucky to have you and I hope some day you do find your way back to journalism. You deserve amazing things and I hope this new adventure brings you only happiness 🙂 Go get them…
Happy Birthday, Andrea.
With me being almost twenty years older than you, the best advice I can give on life is not to make the kind of mistakes that I did during that period of life.
But I know you won’t. You are truly a remarkable person. Would it be we all had the talent you do.
Good luck with the new job.
Gerry
Andrea,
This is more sad news for your readers, there’s been so much loss lately. But thank you for explaining why. It helps a little. Best of luck to you. You will be missed.
Best of luck–you will be missed. You are such a talented professional. God speed in your next chapter and beyond, Katie
While you’ll be missed here in Seattle, may a slice of stability make it’s way into your life! Thanks for your work. kEnT