HMA Time

Adam and his fabulous Fairytale Brownie wife, Erin Kress

Each Monday, we are posting a blog to help our readers get to know the media just a little bit better.

With a TWIST!

No, we aren’t posting story pitch tips or media lists, but instead great stories from the media themselves about their lives, their work and other little known facts! Think of it as your first “networking” opportunity of the week!

Today’s #MediaMonday comes to us from Adam Kress, multimedia reporter and social media maestro for the Phoenix Business Journal.

So, Adam, time to share!

What do you want to tell the blogosphere about yourself today?

Adam: A big reason I chose journalism as a career was because a story I worked on in high school was censored by the administration. A few of the people on The North Star staff and I fought the censorship, and under threat of lawsuit, the school board changed their policies regarding student publications. It was a great lesson in the First Amendment and also media relations. Our censorship battle was picked up by media from all over Chicago, and for a time we were the story because of a story we wrote. Ironic.

The journalism bug got into me then, and it only grew working at The State Press at ASU. I made life-long friends working there, and learned more than I could have imagined. It was such a great experience that some of my alumni friends and I created the State Press Alumni Group to help current students working at the paper. Join our group on Facebook here.

What are you up to now?

Adam: For the better part of the past year at the Phoenix Business Journal I’ve worked to create and grow the paper’s social media presence. We’re now recognized as a leader in the space among our 40+ papers across the country. You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

You can also catch my daily radio reports on NewsTalk 550 KFYI-AM each morning.

P.S. GO CUBS!

Each Monday, we are posting a blog to help our readers get to know the media just a little bit better.

With a TWIST!

No, we aren’t posting story pitch tips or media lists, but instead great stories from the media themselves about their lives, their work and other little known facts! Think of it as your first “networking” opportunity of the week!

Today’s #MediaMonday comes to us from Peter Corbett, one of the best darned reporters in Scottsdale and business reporter for the Scottsdale Republic.

So, Peter, time to share!

What do you want to tell the blogosphere about yourself today?

Peter: How did I get into this news business? And why did I get into this crazy business? Good questions to ask nowadays. I kind of stumbled into journalism while studying English at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff in the late 1970s. I guess it was fate. My dad had pursued journalism and ended up as an English professor. A cosmic twist.

In 1977, I was an aimless liberal arts student at NAU doing some library research on the origins of the Arizona Snowbowl when I bumped into Platt Cline, former publisher of the Arizona Daily Sun. He referred me to an old Swede living in Flagstaff who had been among the founders of the ski area in the early 1930s as I recall. That interview led to my first byline in the weekly Northlander newspaper. A two-year freelance stint followed until I graduated from NAU in 1980 with an English degree. I’ve never taken a journalism course in my life. Independent Newspapers hired me that spring as editor of the Northlander’s sister paper in Sedona called the Verde View. $150 per week.

Sad to say those two papers are defunct. And nearly every other newspaper I’ve worked at over the past 30 years in Arizona journalism has disappeared as well. That includes the Phoenix Gazette and Scottsdale Progress. It’s just a coincidence, I swear.

But I’m confident The Arizona Republic, Scottsdale Republic and azcentral.com will endure.

Our Website scored 1 billion page views in 2009. The Scottsdale Republic site on azcentral.com includes a feature that allows anyone to submit and publish news and community events. Look for the News By You button and click on that to submit an item. Fill out the template for a Business or Restaurant Spotlight or Community Events. It’s as easy as that.

Thanks to Peter for being our #MediaMonday. If you are a member of the media or know a member of the media who wants to share a little something too, just click here and tell us all about it.

Each Monday, we are posting a blog to help our readers get to know the media just a little bit better.

With a TWIST!

No, we aren’t posting story pitch tips or media lists, but instead great stories from the media themselves about their lives, their work and other little known facts! Think of it as your first “networking” opportunity of the week!

Today’s #MediaMonday comes to us from Christia Gibbons, long-time Tribune editor as well as an alum of the Phoenix Business Journal and Arizona Republic. Currently, Christia freelances for several publications statewide.

So, Christia, time to share!

What do you want to tell the blogosphere about yourself today?

Christia: First, my deep, dark secret – I was a varsity cheerleader and a debutante in high school, and a fraternity sweetheart in college. I was also an Arizona highway patrol reserve officer for nearly two years out of Yuma. I wanted to be an editor since I was three-years-old. I’m journalistically proudest of a serial killer project I headed up in California. Because of my team’s great reporting and writing, the guy was caught and successfully prosecuted. And one last fun fact – my father, Frank Johnson, helped write the open meetings law in Arizona.

Thanks to Christia for being our #MediaMonday. If you are a member of the media or know a member of the media who wants to share a little something too, just click here and tell us all about it.