Back from whence I came
I hinted at something in yesterday’s updated KC media jobs post, which included my job, digital editor at the Lawrence Journal-World.
I’m excited – and somewhat sad – to say I’m leaving the Journal-World to return to Chicago, where I’ll be news editor at a start-up news site, DNAInfo.com, which will launch later this month.
DNAInfo has been giving New Yorkers the skinny on their neighborhoods for a few years, and it’s on solid enough ground to be expanding westward, and Chicago is its first location outside the Big Apple. It’s funded by billionaire Joe Ricketts, who founded TD Ameritrade, and is bullish on the potential of online news. Maybe, just maybe, Ricketts and Co. will find the silver bullet to make news a sustainable business in the 21st century and beyond.
DNA’s grabbed some impressive talent from its competitors in Chicago, including two respected veterans of the Chicago Sun-Times, editor Dave Newbart and reporter Mark Konkol, who won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on crime-riddled neighborhoods.
I hope to continue blogging here, though I can’t predict how much time I’ll be able to dedicate to it. I’ve had a blast writing about media in Kansas City, learning more about the personalities and trends, and working with my great fellow board members of the Kansas City Press Club. It’s been fun to watch this blog grow, too. Later this month, it will surpass 26,000 hits all time, which will be a nice little one-year anniversary.
And I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with my very smart, dedicated and talented colleagues at the Journal-World. It’s my second stint in Lawrence, and working in the historic News Center has been one of the highlights of my career.
I’ll be out of Lawrence by early December, so I’ll continue writing here at MediaKC for the time-being. In the meantime, if you know of any digital news whizzes and/or someone looking for a great deal on a 2-bedroom duplex in Lawrence, let me know.
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