BY DAN
KENNEDY
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Friday, August 20, 2004
COSMO RISING. There's never
a dull moment at One Herald Square these days. Today the Boston
Herald promoted its star business columnist, Cosmo
Macero Jr., to business
editor, replacing veteran Ted Bunker, who's leaving the paper.
Longtime staff reporter Eric Convey will be the Herald's assistant
business editor, replacing Cromwell Schubarth, who's also
leaving.
"I'm thrilled with this
opportunity. It's going to be a lot of fun, a lot of work. We are
really going to pour high octane in the engine of this department,
and just tear ass after all the exciting business news in Boston,"
Macero told me.
As for specifics, Macero was less
clear, except that he obviously wants to find a way to appeal to
younger readers. "It's time to move past some of the dinosaurs in
this city and look at the next generation of business leaders," he
said. "We want to focus on who is behind some of our most noteworthy
companies as well as some of our most up-and-coming companies and the
industries that make this city tick." He also talked about his desire
to "have a little fun in doing it" and bring "a little more pizzazz
and splash into our business coverage."
Macero plans to keep writing his
column as well, although he said it might appear only once or twice a
week instead of the current four.
Macero's rise is likely to be
popular inside the newsroom. Says one staff member who asked not to
be identified: "The amount of energy he brings to the room is
extraordinary. I think he wants us really out there in the community
a lot more than we really have been."
Adds managing editor Kevin Convey
(who's not related to Eric Convey): "The idea was that we felt that
the section needed new leadership and that it needs to go in a
different direction." He says, "I think the section needs to be made
more relevant to the business of business in Boston," and that it
needs "a more lively presentation than had been the practice in the
past," and to "select a few major industries and own
them."
Both Convey and Macero said the
right things about Bunker and Schubarth, with Convey saying they put
out "a solid section" and Macero adding that they "set a really high
standard." Sources also say that Schubarth was well-liked among the
staff. But Macero is almost certain to prove more popular with the
troops than Bunker, who'd been the Herald's business editor
since 1997, and whose management style had long been the source of
internal grumbling.
Macero may also help re-spark the
paper's rivalry with the dominant Boston Globe for local
business news. "We have a lot of respect for Cosmo," says the
Globe's deputy business editor, Bennie DiNardo. "He's a very
aggressive columnist, and we look forward to competing with him every
day. If he's anything as an editor like he is as a columnist, it
should be fun."
Though neither Macero nor Kevin
Convey made the analogy, the formula that may be at work here is that
of the New York Post. The Post's formula - outrageous
sensationalism in its news coverage, a good sports section, and
surprisingly smart business coverage - has made it a player in New
York, even if it remains a chronic money-loser.
In recent months, the Herald
has certainly embraced the outrageous aspects of the Post. In
naming Macero to the top business job, the paper may be seeking to
emulate some of the Post's better qualities as
well.
posted at 5:45 PM |
1 comments
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1 Comments:
he's a great columnist, and was an animal of a reporter...problem is, herald business is still buried behind 52 pages..and front page looks more and more like US WEEKLY...
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Dan Kennedy is senior writer and media critic for the Boston Phoenix.
