Nina Munk, a former writer for Fortune and a freelance writer for Vanity Fair, launched Urbanhound.com in 2000. The pet-friendly site is now expanding to San Francisco and Chicago.
According to the New York Times, Munk represents a new type of business journalist—one with the will to step into an entrepreneur’s shoes.
With the pages of their own newspapers and magazines full of articles about cutbacks, buyouts and consolidation, some reporters have stared down grim realities of the news business and decided that there may be opportunity amid all the mayhem.
Content may or may not be king, but it’s mighty valuable. Journalists, who know a thing or two about its creation, are beginning to build sites that help them maintain custody of the content and, if all goes well, reap the rewards.
Munk told the times, she was not “sufficiently ambitious” at the onset of her business.
“I think for a business reporter, starting a business is humbling,” she said. “I think you develop a new appreciation for what it takes to manage a huge business. I have become acutely aware of the personality traits required for success in business.
“None of these guys have any doubts, and I am filled with self-doubt,” she added. “I’ve learned a lot about how single-minded you have to be.”
