Hello friends, and welcome back to Bullish, TechCrunch’s first talk show. This week we’re talking about journalism, leaving it, and what happens when you come back.
The move from journalism to PR, to pick one example, is a very well-worn route. Hell, the route from journalism to any other form of work isn’t uncommon — the woes of the world of journalism have been well documented by, ahem, the media.
But then there are the outliers: People who leave journalism, and come back.
Improbable? Perhaps. Impossible? Not at all. Among that cadre is TechCrunch’s own Drew Olanoff, who has made, in my view, a massive contribution to the team since his return. There are others, happily.
Among the I Am Back Crew, is Lauren Hockenson — better known as LHock — a former GigaOm reporter, is back to writing, this time at The Next Web. In between she did a content stint at BitTorrent. It’s good to have her back.
There is some tension between the corporate landscape, the in-house world, if you will, and journalists. It’s the difference of playing for one team, and one team only, and not playing for a team at all.
I don’t have to highlight here the well-worn gripes between the worlds of journalism, and PR to pick an example to underscore the tension. To be able to do both requires a special set of skills. To do both well all the more.
So, let’s find out how you go, how you come back, and how you can dance to two songs in sequence.