#MediaMonday – Jorge Ramos
Happy #MediaMonday! This feature comes to us from Jorge Ramos, commercial real estate and economic development reporter for the Phoenix Business Journal.
Time to share, Jorge!
How did you get your start in writing? Tell us your story and experience.
I began writing and taking it seriously as a community college student at Mount San Antonio College (MT.SAC) in Walnut, California. I covered sports with the student media at my community college while also playing soccer at the school. Becoming a sportswriter seemed like a natural transition as my soccer playing days were coming to an end. From there, I transferred to Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication where I worked at the State Press and interned at the Arizona Republic.
Up until beginning my role with the Phoenix Business Journal, I spent all of my previous professional life covering college and high school sports in Texas and Los Angeles — my hometown.
Tell us about your outlet and role. What types of pitches, stories are you looking for?
I am a Commercial Real Estate and Economic Development reporter for the Phoenix Business Journals. My beat encompasses all the East Valley and the City of Phoenix. I am looking for stories ranging from new large mixed-use development projects, office lease deals and any and all commercial real estate transactions.
What are your favorite stories to cover?
My favorite stories to cover are mixed-use development projects with several facets of retail and residential. Seeing how initial plans change and evolve is an interesting process to observe and cover. The process of breaking ground on these sorts of projects comes under municipal and public oversight but the end product becomes worth it as you begin to see the vision of the project take shape.
Any advice for PR people who want to pitch you?
My advice for PR folks who want to pitch me is to make sure your pitches fall into my beat — commercial real estate and economic development — and make sure if you’re pitching an update on a previously reported story, that the update is significant enough to justify writing about it. Small updates are helpful to reporters, but they don’t always result in another story being written and I think it’s one of the most important takeaways for PR folks pitching reporters.
What are some of your hobbies?
Some of my hobbies include playing pickup soccer, trying new restaurants and discovering new shows to watch.
Do you have any favorite local spots?
A few of my favorite local sports include Presidio Cocina Mexicana, Huarachis Taqueria, Satellite Coffee, the Dirty Drummer and Bagelfeld’s.
What is the best way to reach you?
The best way to reach me is by cell phone, texts and calls are welcomed.
Contact number: 602-308-6502
Contact email: jramos@bizjournals.com
