Chicago remains vibrant high-tech market, prompting need for good Chicago-based stories

By David Brimm
(PCC Co-President)

Photos by Paul Berg

(January 2002 PCC Monthly Luncheon)

Howard Wolinsky Chicago Sun-Times	Rob Kaiser Technology  Chicago Tribune	Darcy L. Evon i-Street Chicago Sun-Times	Tom Alexander ePrairie.com, Inc.

Characterizing Chicago as “a great technology city and a great R&D center with a sound infrastructure and available financial capital for entrepreneurs,” Michael Krauss set the tone for a compelling discussion on Chicago’s high-tech outlook during PCC’s January membership luncheon.

Krauss, vice chair of the Mayor’s Council of Technology Advisors, and partner and chief marketing officer for Diamond Cluster International, Chicago, proceeded to lead a round of applause for the program’s panelists, whom he described as “representing another of Chicago’s great assets: a great technology press.”

The day’s panel members were: Rob Kaiser, Technology Reporter for the Chicago Tribune; Darcy L. Evon, founder, president and CEO of i-Street and the technology columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times; Howard Wolinsky, a technology r

eporter for the Chicago Sun-Times; and Tom Alexander, executive editor of ePrairie.com, Inc.

Darcy Evon, who started i-Street in 1999, and was named Internet columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times in February of 2000, is actively seeking news about early start-up ventures in high-tech in the Chicago area. She is particularly looking for background on local nanotech companies and developers of new high-tech medical devices.

She doesn’t cover major publicly traded companies as a rule, but instead concentrates on entrepreneurs and venture capitalists looking to launch or fund high-tech enterprises. She is very open to email queries, but will not open attachments, so all material must be embedded within the email message. She can be reached at darcy@i-street.com, but warns against trying to reach her on Thursdays or early Fridays, since she is on deadline.

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Evon is bullish on the outlook of high tech in Chicago and strongly believes that the rise in technology will be the most powerful tool for refueling the economy. She finds the field an exciting one and has seen the field change from short-term growth spurts characterized by the flame out of the dot.coms, to companies that are seeking longer term payoffs and are less likely to wild fluctuations in performance and investment. See sees part of her job as educating the public about technology, staying away from buzz words and tech talk that will alienate readers. Her approach is to “promote and reward people who help create a vital entrepreneurial climate in Chicago.”

Tom Alexander’s ePrairie.com is a daily e-newsletter covering the business and technology community in the Chicago area.

His editorial mission is to demonstrate how industry embraces and incorporates emerging technologies for growth. He likes the idea of directing his publication up new streets and venues in search of stories that support the theory that “what you do today will affect tomorrow.” He is looking to cover the “big picture,” how high tech plays into the larger Chicago economic picture. He encourages PR people to become a source of high-tech information, whether or not they are promoting their own clients. He wants ePrairie to boost the high-tech community in Chicago and explain the significance of high tech to Chicagoans. He can be reached via email at tom@eprairie.com

The Chicago Tribune’s Rob Kaiser covers only publicly traded Chicago area companies, so he spends much of his time covering local high-tech companies such as Motorola. Kaiser noted that in addition to himself, three other reporters cover the high tech beat for the Tribune: Barbara Rose (privately held firms/venture capitalists); Jon Van (telecommunications); and Jim Coates (personal technology).

Kaiser notes that he’s a tough sell on PR pitches but would welcome PR people who provide him with experts to discuss the bigger high-tech picture even if the resulting story won’t cover his or her company. He warned that he doesn’t do “puff profiles’ of high tech companies, and is really turned off when Chicago companies give the Wall Street Journal advanced stories before the Tribune and local papers. He prefers to be contacted by email at rdkaiser@tribune.com

Howard Wolinsky, a Sun-Times veteran who began his career with the paper in the 1980s covering the medical/health beat, switched to covering the Internet in 1994.

Wolinsky, who just completed writing a book entitled “Healthcare Online for Dummies,” repeatedly emphasized that his coverage is devoted entirely to Chicago-based companies. He focuses on startups, big firms and any high-tech related business in Chicago, including business-to-business. Wolinksy doesn’t mind being pitched on the phone at (312) 321-2564, and noted that he was more approachable than many reporters. He can be reached via email at hwolinsky@suntimes.com.

In short, the panel encouraged PR people to play an active role in getting the word out about Chicago’s emerging high tech companies because they are a receptive audience.

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