Former business and technology reporter Sam Diaz has started a new job as Director of Content Creation and Influencer Relations at San Francisco tech PR firm Blanc & Otus.
“I’m excited about being able to put my journalism skills to work at a company that understands the value of relevant storytelling over marketing lingo that was once industry standard,” Diaz tells Media Moves. “As companies continue to realize how strong content helps them meet their business objectives, I’m hopeful that more of them will also recognize how much journalists – and former journalists – bring to the table.”
Diaz spent over two decades working in the news industry as a reporter, editor and blogger for the Fresno Bee, the San Jose Mercury News, The Washington Post and CBS Interactive.
He switched to “corporate journalism” in 2012, working for Broadcom Corp. He joined Hewlett Packard as Director of News in 2016, but was laid off last year when his position was eliminated as part of a departmental restructuring.
“I do miss the old newsroom days. But I don’t miss it in the sense that I wish I was still working for one. The industry changed and today’s media companies aren’t the same as they used to be. As such, we have to change, too. I’m no longer practicing “journalism” but I am doing something I like and where I know my journalist’s skills are valued.”
