Splash
Splash writes business-focused commentary for Splash, using the global shipping industry to tell larger stories about money, power and risk in world trade. Their coverage tracks how policy shifts, security concerns and commodity cycles change demand for seaborne cargoes and the fortunes of the companies that move them. They write in the collective voice of the masthead, with pieces that sit between market analysis and editorial column. The through-line is a focus on commercial consequences: who benefits, who loses and how quickly the market adjusts.
Coal as an energy security asset
In work examining coal as an energy security asset, Splash treats a traditionally “dirty” fuel as a live business question rather than a settled moral one. The piece frames coal’s resurgence through the lens of supply security, grid stability and the scramble for alternative sourcing when geopolitics upend gas and oil flows. It looks at how this shift drives fresh demand for coal shipments, changes trade routes and affects earnings for bulk carriers and their owners. Environmental pressure is present, but it is weighed against price, reliability and strategic stockpiling, reflecting an interest in the practical trade-offs companies and governments make.
That balance of climate ambition and security realism is typical of how they approach energy-related cargoes.
Shipping markets and the business of commodities
Beyond coal, Splash consistently links commodity stories back to freight markets, vessel deployment and investment decisions. They highlight how moves in energy, minerals and agricultural goods translate into ton-mile demand, vessel scarcity or oversupply and shifts in bargaining power between charterers and owners. Corporate strategy sits alongside market data: their pieces look at how shipowners, traders and utilities respond to shocks with new contracts, different routes or changes in fleet mix. Regulatory pressure and sanctions are treated as commercial variables, shaping which trades are viable and which assets become stranded or newly valuable. The result is coverage that makes macro events legible in terms of balance sheets and orderbooks.
Opinion-led, industry-facing format
Splash writes in a concise, opinion-led format aimed at an industry audience that follows shipping closely.
The tone is direct and sometimes provocative, using clear arguments rather than neutral voice to push readers to reassess comfortable assumptions in sectors like coal, oil and gas. Pieces are tightly structured, often built around a single thesis and a few well-chosen examples rather than long chains of quotes. Market implications are foregrounded, with attention to freight rates, asset values and risk rather than political point-scoring.
This style makes their work most useful when a story needs an editorial frame that stresses commercial impact and industry consequences rather than general-interest explanation.
4 more business journalists.
Aaron Karp
Aaron Karp is distinct for connecting airline networks, airport infrastructure, air cargo and policy. He is a senior editor at Air Transport World and has covered aviation since 1999. He has also worked as an editor for cargo-focused and daily aviation publications. His real beat is how airlines and airports respond to growth, regulation, trade conditions, sustainability pressures and technology changes. He covers route planning, network development, airport capacity, infrastructure, cargo flows, trade lanes, safety, air traffic control and future technology. He reports through news, features, opinion pieces, briefings and podcasts. He uses data, executive insight and industry conference reporting to explain market changes. His work links cargo metrics and trade policy to carrier strategy, and connects infrastructure and sustainability decisions to resilience, costs and long-term growth.
Adrienne Roberts
Adrienne Roberts is a business journalist at the Detroit Free Press who covers how policy, regulation and corporate decisions affect Michigan’s cannabis market, jobs, universities and health systems. She has a sustained focus on cannabis taxes, licensing, sales, product rules, consumer safety and local tax revenue. She also reports on unemployment, worker protections, corporate settlements, hiring, higher education, student safety, housing, data centers, health care access and economic forecasts. Roberts joined the Detroit Free Press in 2020 after covering automotive retail, dealers and labor issues for The Wall Street Journal. She explains complex business and regulatory changes with data, legal detail and on-the-ground voices. Her stories focus on practical effects for workers, students, consumers and communities, showing both the numbers and the people behind them.
Alex Bronzini-Vender
Alex Bronzini-Vender is a business reporter who focuses on how economic forces and corporate decisions shape specific communities and industries. He covers business for the Washington Monthly, writing reported pieces at the intersection of commerce and public life. His work reflects the magazine’s emphasis on linking markets and money to power, policy, and everyday experience. He treats business not as balance sheets and deals but as choices that affect local realities. In “Fear and Loathing in Palo Alto,” he uses a city tied to the tech sector to examine how a powerful industry influences a community. He grounds his business beat in on-the-ground consequences rather than treating corporate and financial developments in isolation.
Alex DeMarban
Alex DeMarban stands out for tracking major energy projects over time while showing how economic shifts affect local businesses. He reports for the Anchorage Daily News on business, oil and gas, and general assignments. His coverage focuses on Alaska LNG, long-haul energy projects, mining, ports, transportation infrastructure, and the everyday businesses that keep the state running. He examines financing, tax legislation, labor agreements, regulatory approvals, timelines and costs, and connects government and corporate decisions to workers, communities and consumers. He also reports on restaurant closures, grocery stores, breweries, meaderies, parking and trade disputes. His past coverage includes an open-pit mine near the proposed Ambler road, federal port grants and competitive elections. He reports through dollar figures, project details, public records, business owners and affected workers, showing how policy and resource development play out on the ground.