When the Coaching Commons appointed its first Community Supported Journalist, David Goldsmith was one of the first to comment, offering support to the rookie reporter in uncertain terms: “I’m thrilled you are on board to cover the coaching profession!”

Goldsmith knows the challenges of reporting on the coaching profession. He is founder and Senior Partner of The Goldsmith Group, is a Master Certified Coach and was publisher of the Coaching Insider, an online publication that grew at its height to 5,000 subscribers before ultimately closing in the face of declining revenue. “We had some worthwhile enterprise pieces and did a good job,” Goldsmith said.

Launched five years ago, the Coaching Insider was a response to the sudden and dramatic growth in the coaching field. “In other industries that I have participated in, there has been some sort of newsletter that insiders would read about the real news in the industry that people in the industry always read and cared about,” Goldsmith said. “I felt like it was time to do this for the coaching industry. We hired a working journalist who had trained as a coach and set him loose.”

The Insider found no shortage of stories, focusing quickly on a series of coaching ripoffs. “There were some scams being run and we were able to chase them down,” Goldsmith said. “Some people didn’t like us, which I considered a good thing!”

In one case, Goldsmith recalls, the Insider exposed a company doing infomercials encouraging coaches to sign up–for pay–in the hopes of being provided a connection to huge numbers of clients. The Insider reported the story, and the company folded.

But the Insider’s time was short as well.

Subscribers signed up, and readers posted large numbers of comments, but advertising was slow, and ultimately didn’t cover the costs of keeping the Insider’s reporter on the beat. “We didn’t know about community supported journalism and our only revenue model was advertising,” said Goldsmith, who looks back at the Insider fondly. “I think it was very positive. The issues were worth reading and we were very proud of it.”

Goldsmith was forced to make the decision to close down the Insider and lay off the reporter on the beat, who today is still working in the coaching arena, moderating forums and doing original reporting in other areas. “It was not fun to pull the plug on something that was doing so well,” Goldsmith said.

It was his passion for journalism and coaching that led him to Ruth Ann Harnisch. Together they formed the leadership team, along with Andrea Lee, (who also participated in the original Coaching Insider team) that later created the Coaching Commons.

As for the Coaching Commons, and its first Community Supported Journalist, Goldsmith said the timing is right for a return to coaching journalism. “I think there is more to cover now than when we had the Insider. I think covering the industry/profession is needed more now than ever. The population is much bigger and coaching is attached to everything. If you are covering coaching and not just professional coaches there is much opportunity to report on where real coaching is happening, as opposed to a dog trainer now calling themselves a dog coach!”

Goldsmith also believes one subject remains as important today as it was when the Insider published: “I think there are more people trying to profit off the coaching industry, so the likelihood of scams and malfeasance has increased,” said Goldsmith.

His advice? Follow the story, and set the agenda. “Transparency and visibility are good things! You’ll also have to define what is news in this industry!”