[ 1 Degree, 10 Careers ] Tom Bowlus ’94
Editor-in-Chief Bass Gear Magazine, Ltd. and Managing Member The Bowlus Law Firm, Ltd.
Jon Christensen ’81
Restaurant and Wine Reviewer The Columbus Dispatch and Principal Christensen Law Office LLC
Chris Geidner ’05 Senior Political and Legal Reporter BuzzFeed
Editor’s Note: Jon Christensen needs to remain anonymous in his role as a wine and restaurant reviewer.
How I got this job: After working for the Ohio EPA, I joined my father in the practice of law back in my hometown of Fremont, Ohio. My father is now retired, and I am running the firm. I formed Bass Gear Magazine after Guitar World closed up the magazine I used to write for, Bass Guitar Magazine. How I use my J.D.: As a practicing attorney, the J.D. is, of course, essential. With regard to my role with Bass Gear Magazine, my J.D. was helpful in setting up the company, and the legal writing/review skills are especially helpful in my role as editor. My most interesting interview: That would be Will Lee (best known for his work on The Late Show with David Letterman). Will is an interesting cat with a deep and varied musical career.
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T H E O H I O S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
How I got this job: I actually started my career in journalism before law school. I was assignment editor, producer, and chief photographer for Channel 10 news in Columbus before starting a career in government relations for the Ohio Department of Commerce and the Ohio Department of Health. In 1975, I started writing food and wine pieces for Columbus Monthly, starting with its first issue. How I use my J.D.: Outside of examining Ohio’s tortured laws governing the way consumers are charged for alcohol, I do find that my training in journalism and law has benefited my writing. Getting as much information into an understandable idiom with the fewest words is always difficult to do. I’d like to think I’ve been trained in the best of both worlds – the plain writing we do for readers and the precise writing we all learn to care about in law school. My most interesting interview: At Channel 10, I had the opportunities to interview Richard Nixon and composer Aaron Copland. My very first story for the debut issue of Columbus Monthly was my most controversial. It was an exposition on the legalized price-fixing of wine in Ohio. People in the wine business were furious with the magazine for publishing it, even though it’s right there in the Ohio Administrative Code for everyone to see. The publisher was very happy with it, though, because it got attention.
How I got this job: In 2009, I moved back to Washington, D.C., where I worked for D.C.’s LGBT magazine, Metro Weekly, through the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal and more. In June 2012, BuzzFeed’s editor in chief, Ben Smith, asked me to bring my reporting to BuzzFeed for the election, the U.S. Supreme Court’s marriage cases, and beyond. How I use my J.D.: I use my degree daily, from analyzing briefs and opinions in the Supreme Court and other cases to examining pending legislation and explaining regulatory changes. I could not do my job without the understanding of the legal world I gained through law school at Moritz. My most interesting interview: I’m going with two interviews. I sat down with Larry Kramer, the author of The Normal Heart, to talk about the LGBT world today. More than a year later, I returned to the same apartment building in New York City to interview Edith Windsor, the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. I love my job.
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