The McDonnell Group

By Nancy Broe

The third and final installment of this three-part series “What Drives Energy Journalists?”continues with thoughts of prominent journalists covering the utility and energy markets on what drove their interest in these areas.

Environmental issues or a specialty in a related industry brought several to energy journalism.

Charles Redell tells about the steep learning curve after joining an energy trade magazine after working as a journalist for about 4 years and how he “soaked up all the knowledge he could”:

“To be honest, writing about and for utilities was not my favorite topic. It was often quite dry and not terribly groundbreaking; utilities move at a glacial pace when it comes to adopting new ideas/technology. But the specific publication I worked on, Energy Prospects West, did focus on alternative energy and new transmission technologies. Writing stories about new solar installations, high-efficiency transmission lines and the early dawn of smart grid discussions woke me up to the idea that I could write about something I am passionate about: the environment.