Hamrick tracks evolution of news from AP's tradition to Bankrate.com's online presence

Former National Press Club President Mark Hamrick has spent much of his career with a venerable institution, the Associated Press. In a couple weeks, he will make a personal transition that parallels the changes occurring in the journalism field, moving from AP to Bankrate.com.

At a time when methods of news and media consumption have shifted in favor of digital platforms, Hamrick is confident Bankrate.com, a publisher of financial news and content online, will succeed in the midst of journalism’s evolution.

“It’s very clear that the digital transition that’s going on is causing challenges for traditional journalism organizations, and there are going to be winners and losers in that; and Bankrate has established that it’s winning,” said Hamrick, Club president in 2011. “I like the idea of being a part of that and helping [Bankrate.com] to move forward in a way that it will continue to grow.”

Bankrate.com covers nearly 600 local markets in all 50 U.S. states, developing and providing content to more than 80 co-branded websites with online partners that include Yahoo!, AOL, and Bloomberg. It also generates daily editorial content for more than 500 newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and USA Today.

“What Bankrate is good at doing is developing content that is of interest to everyone from savers to borrowers and investors, and that is essentially just about everyone who is of a certain age in society,” Hamrick said. “You always want to make sure that you are doing things that are of interest to your readers and viewers. Bankrate has a great team to do that, and I’m happy to be a part of it.”

The background he gained from his award-winning 26-year career at AP, where he was most recently business editor for AP Broadcast, will serve Hamrick well as he begins his new job Jan. 1 as Bankrate.com’s first Washington bureau chief. With an office in the National Press Building, he will cover the White House, Congress and financial news from a perspective of how the regulatory environment affects consumers and market participants.

In Hamrick, Bankrate.com readers will read and listen to a reporter experienced in the workings of the capital.

“Washington is a city that is built on relationships, that’s how business gets done here,” Hamrick said.

One of the places where he sees Washington in action is at the Club, according to one of its current leaders.

"Given the news of the day, business reporting from Washington is of utmost importance,” said Angela Greiling Keane, Club vice president. “Mark's new employer will benefit from his business expertise as well as many years of leadership experience at the Press Club.''

With all the excitement surrounding his new job, there is one aspect that has been difficult for Hamrick as he leaves the AP.

“The hardest thing is that I won’t be seeing my friends and colleagues on a daily basis anymore,” he said.