Straight talk with a journalist who turned cutting-edge blogger.

Ed Silverman is the journalist who converted to blogging when the New Jersey Star-Ledger started Pharmalot. Actually, the Star-Ledger may never have launched this new venture if Ed hadn’t suggested this fresh new idea in the first place. It took a year, and many meetings, until finally in January 2007, Ed's new stronghold was up and running.

And it is a good thing for all of us that the Star-Ledger agreed to support this upheaval in the pharma media world.

What Ed didn’t tell his bosses at the time was that he had been offered to join another major media conglomerate.

“It was a no-brainer” says Ed. “I was offered another opportunity, but I believed it would be more interesting to stay with the Star-Ledger and change the world with Pharmalot.”

And he hasn’t regretted that decision. Ed has been a journalist for roughly twenty-five years, but he’s never enjoyed as much visibility as he does now.

He is a living example of Andy Warhol's famous quote, "In the future everyone will have their fifteen minutes of fame."

The blogging revolution has given Ed a lot more than fifteen minutes. He gets interview requests all the time from conservative bastions of the old media, such as the New York Times, BBC, Pharmaceutical Executive, and Medical Marketing & Media. “That didn’t happen when I wrote for the paper,” he says.

The downside?

“It becomes obsessive. I work twelve to fourteen hour days. I even work on my vacation. It never stops.”

And as a result of this hard work, Pharmalot has grown from zero converts to a very substantial group of followers, one of the higher in the business of pharma blogging.

It doesn’t hurt that Ed has a background working for tabloids. “That’s where I learned what really gets people fired up; what brings in readers. And the same goes for writing online. Controversy and mayhem will always drive visitor traffic.”

Another reason for Ed’s success in a crowded field is that he doesn’t just know what to write about but also how to talk to his disciples. “I write Pharmalot as if I was doing radio. It’s more conversational, but I link back to many sources, so you still get the substance.”

So what’s next for Ed? “I’m going to build up readership for Pharmalot; then we’ll see. I’m committed to the site. Maybe it’s possible to build a new kind of media franchise in the healthcare area,” he says thoughtfully. “One where I don’t have to work quite as many hours.”

I point to Ed’s t-shirt, which says “Sick and tired of everything,” next to an image of Charlie Brown from Peanuts. Ed smiles. “It’s just me being a contrarian.”

- Peter Rost, M.D. is a former VP of Pfizer and the author of Killer Drug and The Whistleblower.

Comments

[John Mack]

Pharmalot definitely offers the best blend of blogging and journalism in that it is well written, credible, and offers great insight with lots of reader dialog.

Great job, Ed!

[Herman Cabbage]

These blogs are a fun party until the beer runs out. What happens when Mr. Silverman burns out? What happens when the Newark Starledger gets tired of having their best pharma reporter work on a no-revenue project all day?