#MediaMonday – Ron Davis

Today’s #MediaMonday comes to us from Ron Davis, a commercial real estate and economic development reporter covering the East Valley for the Phoenix Business Journal.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Frankfort, Ill., — a suburb about a half-hour south of Chicago. I lived there my whole childhood before going to college at the University of Missouri.

How did you get your start in writing? Tell us your story!

It all started when I got to Mizzou. I went there to study economics, but the dorm room floor I ended up choosing was mostly prospective journalism students. My friends were all involved in writing for the student newspaper or working for the student television station. They came back to the dorm full of energy, talking about all the cool stuff they were working on. I felt left out.

I was interested in sports and one of my very good buddies let me write a “report card” with him on the football recruiting class Mizzou signed that year. We worked all night on that story and after a couple of energy drinks, I had my first byline. I was hooked and wanted more.

Tell us about your outlet and what types of pitches you are looking for.

I got hired by the Phoenix Business Journal and started in early June as a commercial real estate and economic development reporter, covering the East Valley. I will have a heightened focus on office — tenant movement, sales or big picture trends, so any pitch that intersects with those areas piques my interest.

What are your favorite stories to work on?

My editor in college was tough. I covered sports, but that meant I was covering beyond the box score or what happened on the field or the court. He introduced the ladder of abstraction, which is a notion that stories can — and should — relate to larger concepts, to our class.

In business news, sometimes I’m writing about a deal that just came through and we need to get the news up as soon as possible. I like to understand the why and the how behind the deal to give readers that additional context.

While I like to write about deals, I really love to write about the people behind the deals. That means exploring motivations, how a person got to the point in his/her career and what they enjoy doing away from the office.

What are some of your hobbies?

I love baseball, and I can’t wait to check out a ton of White Sox spring training games next year. Aside from yelling at my TV during Sox games, I like to try new restaurants, go hiking and hanging out with my girlfriend and our dog and cat.

Favorite show?

I’m coming to the Valley by way of Albuquerque, so this may sound biased, but my favorite shows are the combined universe of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Every episode of the two is a masterpiece.

What is the best way to reach you?

You can email me at rdavis@bizjournals.com, on the phone at 602-308-6523 and follow me on Twitter at @RDavisBizNews.