Aaron Crowe

One of the things I’ve had to unlearn, at least partially, from journalism school is being a generalist.  In college I was taught that as a reporter, it’s best to know a little about a lot of things so that reporting on many issues would be easier. Even with specific beats — city government, prisons, transportation, etc. — everyone was always a general assignment reporter who could jump on any breaking story.

But having a specialty is now popular with the Internet. Everyone has a niche, or is trying to create one. On WalletPop, I write about personal finance, but in an interesting way that has mass appeal. At Housing Watch, I write about new homes and the housing market in general.

They’re niche markets, but my beats are so wide that there are sub-beats within them to cover. For example, for Housing Watch I’m trying to find stories relating to solar power or “green” power. It’s an interest of mine and one I think that I can add a lot to.

Today I had a story about smart meters in California, and a fun story to report on Earth Aid, a site where consumers can get money back in gift cards for using less power or water each month. It’s a niche area I’d like to grow and become more of an expert on, with a host of sources and expertise to write about the solar and green power industries. I’ve already written a few stories on solar power, and plan to do more.

In the grand scheme of things, it’s a small start, but one I’d like to have lead to a full-time job blogging about such topics for a solar website. Or better yet, to start my own website on solar power.