From college colleagues to business colleagues, college sweethearts to sharing an office suite, Karen Blumenthal and Scott McCartney are keeping it all in the family. Karen is the Bureau Chief for the Dallas Bureau of the Wall Street Journal, and Scott is the Deputy Bureau Chief. Here, they supervise 11 reporters who cover eight states.
This busy Lake Highlands family of four, including their daughters Abby, 12 and Jenny, 10, balances everyday life with working parents in a partnership. Scott compares their situation to that of a “mom and pop bakery” as their work is always with them. Their kids say they don’t leave work at work.
“Because we are married,” says Karen, “we probably don’t talk much in the office so when we are home, we catch up.”
Karen and Scott met at Duke University while writing for the school newspaper; in fact, Karen gave him his first writing assignment. She graduated in 1981 and came back to Dallas to work for The Dallas Morning News.
When Scott arrived in 1982, the News was under a hiring freeze; however, he soon found work with the Associated Press wire service. Scott was a roving correspondent for 11 years covering such stories as the Los Angeles riots, sporting a flack jacket.
Karen moved to the Wall Street Journal in 1984 and worked there until she was hired back by the News where she was the business editor. Scott replaced her as the technology writer at the WSJ.
“At my first meeting with the managing editor in New York, he told me he wanted my wife back,” said Scott. And by 1994 they were again working together, this time at the WSJ.
Scott and Karen married in 1983, settling in Dallas where she had grown up, graduating from Lake Highlands High School. (Scott was raised in Boston.) They wanted a good education for their daughters and were hoping to send them to the neighborhood Montessori school. When the school ceased offering that curriculum, they began looking for a better situation.
“I went to the Richardson School District and read the curriculum for each elementary and found that Moss Haven’s style was what we liked. We love the school and the neighborhood. The neighbors are close and are there when needed with flowers or a meal,” says Karen.
Not only are Scott and Karen dedicated employees, they are dedicated parents as well. Karen volunteers at the school and Scott is coaching soccer. A well-greased schedule allows them to be there for their children and their job.
During Spring Break, a situation arose that tested their commitment to the Journal, and reinforced their ability as compatible colleagues and working parents. Scott was required to fly to New York on a Wednesday, return on Thursday, and work on his laptop in flight. At the same time, Karen gathered information and dealt with reporters as she stayed home with the girls. When he arrived home, the two stayed up all night editing. Then, Karen turned around and caught a flight to New York at 6:55 am. The story successfully ran on Friday.
Scott added “author” as an additional component to his busy life. He completed three books in the last nine years. His most recent is Eniac: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the World’s First Computer. This is the story of the first two men to invent the computer at the University of Philadelphia. Scott explained, “1999 was the 50th anniversary of their invention that was ultimately used by the Army to calculate the firing power of new weapons.” This highly acclaimed book can be found at Borders and Barnes and Noble Bookstores.
His other publications include, Defying The Gods about organ transplants at Baylor Hospital, and Trinity’s Children: Living Along American’s Nuclear Highway written with Ted Bartimus. Trinity’s Children is about how nuclear weapons testing affected New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming.
Twenty-four/seven works for Scott and Karen. “Some people tell us that they couldn’t work together,” says Karen.
“It works for us.”
