#MediaMonday – Ilana Lowery
I’ve known Ilana Lowery going on 20+ years (eek!). We’ve certainly gotten to know each other as PR professional and journalist/editor. As editor of the Phoenix Business Journal, she oversees a team of first-class journalists who daily report on what is happening in our community and how that impacts our businesses.
She responded to the request for this Media Monday just days after the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Here’s what she had to say….
What do you want to tell the blogosphere?
Last week, as we all remembered those killed on 9/11 10 years ago, I spent some time reflecting on my 10th anniversary as editor of the Phoenix Business Journal. I became editor just one month before the terrorist attacks. It truly was baptism by fire.
As the tragic events of 9/11 unfolded, I was reminded why working at the Business Journal was, perhaps, the best media job in Arizona. Our news staff was compassionate in their reporting, quick to find the local angles of this national story, efficient and accurate with their words, and 110 percent committed to informing our business community about what was transpiring day by day in the aftermath of the attacks.
Ten years later and our reporters, editors, researchers and production staff are still as passionate and committed to their jobs and their profession as they were then.
Well, I guess this isn’t so much about myself as it is my team, which deserves pretty much all of the credit for making me look good day in and day out. We have a solid staff of veteran reporters (Jan Buchholz, Lynn Ducey, Angela Gonzales, Patrick O’Grady, Mike Sunnucks, and our newest addition, Jennifer Johnson), a talented photographer and graphic designer in Jim Poulin and Amy Morrison, respectively, a killer copy editor (Kat Bryant), a top-notch researcher (Dale Brown) and a solid new media editor and new daddy, Adam Kress. In addition to all of those great co-workers, there’s my right (and left) hand, Managing Editor Randi Weinstein, who is the real workhorse of the bunch.
And that’s just the newsroom. I’m lucky to work with so many wonderful individuals in sales, circulation, events, admin, and production. In April I will celebrate my 17th year with the Phoenix Business Journal (I know, hard to believe since I only look 25). Someone asked me at a recent event where I was speaking what it was like to work for a newspaper. I had to stop and think about the question. I can honestly say that between the people here and our culture, the Business Journal isn’t like any other media outlet — and I’ve worked in a few.
So I guess what I want the blogosphere to know about me is that I truly believe our company serves an important role in the community; I am blessed that above all else, our people come first; and I love what I do!
