Jim Romenesko

Romenesko graduated from Marquette University and went to work for the Milwaukee Journal, serving as a police reporter for the newspaper. Initially repulsed by the sometimes grisly nature of his work, he went on to publish the coroner's reports of unusual deaths in a book called Death Log (1981). From 1982 to 1995 he worked as an editor for Milwaukee Magazine, where he wrote features and an award-winning column that covered the local media called "Pressroom Confidential".{{Cite news|last=Poniewozik |first=James |title=Please Mr. Link Man |work=Salon |access-date=November 17, 2008 |date=June 10, 1999 |url=http://www.salon.com/media/col/poni/1999/06/10/weblogs/print.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080707030459/http://www.salon.com/media/col/poni/1999/06/10/weblogs/print.html |archive-date=July 7, 2008 }} During this time he also taught journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He worked as an Internet reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press from 1996 to 1999.

From 1989 to 1999, Romenesko ran a newsletter named Obscure Publications which covered fanzines. In 1998 he began the website Obscure Store and Reading Room, which linked to odd news stories, and which earned him the reputation of a "witty Matt Drudge."{{Cite web | last = Robischon | first = Noah | title = The Obscure Store and Reading Room | work = Brill's Content | access-date = November 1, 2010 | date = February 1999 | url = http://www.brillscontent.com/welike/stuff_0299.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/19990417052435/http://www.brillscontent.com/welike/stuff_0299.html |archive-date = April 17, 1999}} Obscure Store was terminated in September 2011.{{cite news|title=Dear readers: After 13 years, I'm closing The Obscure Store|first=Jim |last=Romenesko|url=http://obscurestore.typepad.com/obscure_store_and_reading/2011/09/dear-readers-after-13-years-im-closing-the-obscure-store.html |date=September 4, 2011|work=Obscure Store}} In May 1999 he began another website, this one covering the media and called Mediagossip.com.{{Cite journal| last = Benning| first = Jim| title = Romenesko Revealed| journal = Online Journalism Review| access-date = November 17, 2008| date =February 7, 2000| url = http://www.ojr.org/ojr/workplace/1017965959.php}} It proved a success{{Cite news| last = Wang | first = Andy | title = Cutting Through the On-Line Clutter | work = The New York Times | access-date =November 17, 2008 | date =February 8, 1999 |url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E6D81031F931A3575BC0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print }} and later that year was acquired by the Poynter Institute. The site, renamed to Romenesko's MediaNews, was migrated to Poynter's domain, where it was targeted at journalists,{{Cite news| last = Mitchell| first = Greg| title = Don't mess with Jim| work = Editor & Publisher| page = 19| date =November 25, 2002 }} helping Poynter get more than 14,000 page views a day in 2000.{{Cite news| last =Robertson| first = Lori| title = The Romenesko Factor| work = American Journalism Review| pages = 28| date = September 2000| url = http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=588}} Romenesko's site was reputedly "the best-known newspaper blog" of the time.{{Cite news| page = 6| last = Robins| first = Wayne| title = Blogrolling on a river| work = Editor & Publisher| date =April 15, 2002}} {{Cite news| last = Raines | first = Howell| title = The Romenesko Empire| work = Portfolio.com| access-date = November 17, 2008| date =June 16, 2008| url = http://www.portfolio.com/views/columns/media/2008/06/16/Jim-Romeneskos-Impact-on-Journalism}}{{Cite news| last = Shafer| first = Jack| title = The Romenesko Effect: How a one-man Web site is improving journalism| work = Slate| access-date =October 27, 2010| date =April 18, 2005| url = http://www.slate.com/id/2116903/pagenum/all/}} Romenesko has also been mentioned as a predecessor to Gawker for having "opened the first and biggest hole in the sacred wall between news and gossip in reporting about the media."

On August 24, 2011, Romenesko announced his "semi-retirement" from the Poynter Institute, in preparation to launch JimRomenesko.com, a blog about media and other items of interest to Romenesko. Romenesko planned to continue with Poynter in a part-time capacity, while expanding the role of other staff members of the Poynter Institute to post items related to media.{{cite news|url=http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/romenesko/152838/latest-news/romenesko/143759/romenesko-announces-semi-retirement| title=Romenesko announces his semi-retirement |first=Julie| last=Moos |date=August 24, 2011|work=Poynter}} He ended updates to JimRomenesko.com in 2016.{{Cite web |last=Romenesko |first=Jim |title=Romenesko is Retired but Still Occasionally Tweets |work=JimRomenesko.com |date=July 17, 2017 |url=http://jimromenesko.com/2017/07/07/romenesko-is-on-vacation-but-still-tweeting/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180609143211/http://jimromenesko.com/2017/07/07/romenesko-is-on-vacation-but-still-tweeting/ |archive-date=June 9, 2018 |access-date=May 14, 2024 }}

In 2015, Romenesko announced his retirement from his blog. He said he would no longer accept offers for sponsored post or job advertisements. His website is no longer online.{{cite web |last1=Mullin |first1=Benjamin |title=Jim Romenesko is retiring, but he'll still be posting |url=https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2015/jim-romenesko-is-retiring-but-hell-still-be-posting/ |website=Poynter |access-date=21 October 2023 |date=10 June 2015}}

In November 2011, an assistant editor for the Columbia Journalism Review noted that posts summarizing articles on the Romenesko page at the Poynter Institute's web site repeated, verbatim, text in the articles without the use of quotation marks or indentation. In the process of reporting, the online chief of the Poynter Institute, Julie Moos, was contacted and noted that this behavior had occurred since 2005. Although Romenesko had always attributed the source of the information, Moos said the inconsistency of placing quotation marks or blockquoting text could cause the impression that text not in quotation marks was those of Romenesko, and not lifted directly from the text. Moos placed Romensko's blog on hold while the issue was being investigated, and following investigation ordered that all of Romenesko's posts be approved by an editor prior to post and to follow the Poynter Institute's attribution guidelines of placing quotation marks with any text used in the original article. Moos refused to accept his resignation.{{cite news|title=Questions over Romenesko’s attributions spur changes in writing, editing|work=Poynter|first=Julie|last=Moos |date=November 10, 2011|url=http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/152802/questions-over-romeneskos-attributions-spur-changes-in-writing-editing/}}

Following Moos's comments, some writers and fans complained that the Poynter Institute was "micromanaging" Romenesko and expressed disdain for Moos's actions, noting Romenesko's role in media aggregation and coverage of journalism.{{cite news|title=Fans Fume as Romenesko Resigns from Poynter|work=The Atlantic Wire|first=Adam Clark |last=Estes|url=http://www.theatlanticwire.com/business/2011/11/fans-fume-romenesko-resigns-poynter/44863/ |date=November 11, 2011}} Others criticized Moos for preempting the CJR story, while violating the spirit of Poynter's own standards.{{cite news|title=Jim Romenesko's resignation, and a scooped reporter|first=Erik |last=Wemple|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/post/jim-romeneskos-resignation-and-a-scooped-reporter/2011/11/10/gIQADyA59M_blog.html |date=November 10, 2011|work=Washington Post}} Other reporters called the criticism over the proper use of quotation marks "school-marmish" and "petty".{{cite news| url=http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/journalism-ethics-taken-too-seriously-romenesko-scolded-on-his-own-blog/ | work=The New York Times | first=Jeremy W. | last=Peters | title=Romenesko Leaves Poynter After Conflict Over Quotes | date=November 10, 2011}} Romenesko continued to offer his resignation, which Moos later accepted.{{cite news|title=Romenesko resigns after 12 years at Poynter|work=Poynter|first=Julie|last=Moos |date=November 10, 2011|url=http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/152838/romenesko-resigns-after-12-years-at-poynter/}}

{{reflist|2}}

• [https://www.poynter.org/tag/mediawire/ Romenesko's former blog at Poynter, now called MediaWire]
• [http://obscurestore.typepad.com/ Obscure Store and Reading Room]
• [https://starbucksgossip.typepad.com/ Starbucks Gossip]

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Category:1953 births

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Category:St. Paul Pioneer Press people