The Orange County Business Journal added a pair of reporters to its growing editorial team earlier this month.
Katie Murar joined the paper to cover the real estate, tourism and hospitality industries, while Jasmine Spearing-Bowen will head up Orange County’s vibrant startup and innovation scene.
“We’re expecting 2019 to be a fascinating year for Orange County’s business community, and we’re excited to have Katie and Jasmine aboard as we continue to expand and improve our coverage across all areas of the local economy,” said Business Journal Editor Mark Mueller.
Both have previous work experience at other Business Journals on the West Coast.
Murar worked for two years as a staff reporter for Honolulu’s Pacific Business News, where she covered tourism, restaurants and real estate, and served as a moderator for the publication’s annual Women in Business conference.
An Orange County native and current resident of Coto de Caza, she earned a master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism in Chicago.
Murar will be working with Mueller—who was promoted to editor of the paper in November, after covering real estate for over a decade—to write news stories on commercial and residential real estate.
In addition, she will be taking over hospitality and tourism duties from Paul Hughes, who has taken a new role at the paper, Director of Special Reports.
Hughes will oversee the paper’s weekly industry-specific special reports, as well as longer-term projects such as the Business Journal’s annual OC 500 book. He will also continue to cover the area’s large roster of corporate restaurant companies and OC’s food and beverage industry, and manage the paper’s website.
Spearing-Bowen previously worked for the Puget Sound Business Journal, where she covered real estate, education and tourism.
A graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and a resident of Tustin, she will be spearheading the paper’s Startups & Innovations page, a weekly column that aims to detail OC’s growing base of emerging technology, medical device and other early-stage businesses, in addition to other duties.
“The startup column will be revamped by Jasmine with half a dozen or more items every week of the exciting milestones being reached by OC’s emerging, next-generation companies. This will not only be of great interest to our startup community, but to all of us interested in reading about our great future companies as they grow from acorns,” said Business Journal Publisher Richard Reisman.
Originally from Saskatchewan, Canada, Spearing-Bowen loves traveling, hiking, scuba diving and going to as many Ducks games as possible.
To avoid any Oahu withdrawals, Murar said she plans to spend much of her free time at the beach, swimming and stand up paddle boarding.
