Each Monday, we’re giving readers a chance to get to know the media a little better.
With a little flair.
Our goal is to give readers some insight into the work and work style of area journalists, and get to know a little bit about the person behind the byline. Start your week off with an online networking opportunity through our Media Monday blog post.
This Week: Jeanne Lang Jones, Puget Sound Business Journal
Jeanne Lang Jones covers retail and real estate for the Puget Sound Business Journal. She has been with PSBJ since 2001 after her dot-com LocalBusiness.com (formerly dbusiness.com) shut down. Dbiz was based in Ft. Lauderdale and competed against the American Cities Business Journal chain online. Prior to that, she held positions at the Eastside Journal and at the Houston Post.
Q: What’s your favorite kind of story?
A: I like getting to write about interesting people in unusual or challenging situations. I really enjoyed talking to the late Eastside entrepreneur Peter LaHaye. He was a high school dropout who invented an implantable lens for cataract patients. The ongoing saga of bankrupt Seattle real estate developer Mike Mastro is also fascinating, in part because so many of his investors remain loyal to him despite their losses.
Q: If you could have someone else’s job, what would it be?
A: I don’t know that I would want anyone else’s job — what I do changes constantly and is really interesting. That said, it would be fun to be able to program software. I’m amazed I can make type get smaller or bigger simply by pinching or spreading my fingers across an iPad. It’s practical magic.
Q: Finish this sentence: “A good PR person is …”
A: …someone who has deep knowledge of what their client does. That’s very helpful in determining what sorts of stories can be told about their company.
Q: What skills do new journalists need?
A: New journalists need the same basic skills as old ones –– the ability to tell a good story well. The difference now is that story has to be told in a variety of formats besides print.
Q: What hidden talent or skill do you have that readers don’t know about you?
A: I have a thriving organic garden with one mutant herb I had to prune back after it got about eight feet tall. I am afraid to eat it.
The PR Pro Takeaway: A dedicated journalist who enjoys digging into a complicated story. Don’t be afraid to do some of the digging for her …but stay away from her garden.