Podcast: SiteNews editor talks construction trends for 2023

SiteNews’ very own editor Russell Hixson joined The Site Visit podcast to talk about his background in investigative journalism, joining the publication and his forecast for the 2023 construction season. 

Before reporting on Canada’s construction sector, Hixson spent years in the U.S. as an investigative crime reporter, writing about murder, drugs and disasters. 

“I just got burnt out,” he told hosts James Faulkner and Christian Hamm. “I didn’t know anybody here in terms of the industry. I applied for everything and a construction publication called the Journal of Commerce were the only ones who wanted to hire me.”

After covering Western Canada for the publication for over eight years, he was given the opportunity to help lead SiteNews.

“Over the past nine years I have grown to love it,” he said. “I have met so many cool people, I have learned so much about how the machinery of how the nation works and how the economy works, and about all the wonderful people who build our country and keep it running.” 

Having written at daily, print publications for years, Hixson noted that it was excited to try something new with a completely digital offering.

“Every other publication I’ve worked for has always had one foot in traditional journalism,” he said. “When I heard [SiteNews] was going to build a digital publication from scratch for a more modern consumer, I was really excited to be a part of that.”

Hixson also spoke about his reporting on what industry leaders are thinking going into 2023.

“Despite a lot of the doom and gloom in the general media space around the country, our industry is optimistic,” he said. “Maybe you could couch that as ‘cautious optimism’ but everyone I am talking to is busy. They are still going through backlogs of work and they have lots of work booked for 2023.” 

The conversation also touched on the labour shortage and technology trends. He even shared his experience restarting someone’s heart while writing a story about a paramedic in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Listen below to get the whole conversation.