Biz editor is Star Tribune’s first big post-bankruptcy loss

Eric Wieffering, assistant managing editor business and local news at the Star Tribune, told staff Wednesday that he’s leaving for a job in public relations.

As MinnPost.com reported, his departure is a big loss. "Wieffering was widely considered a sharp ex-reporter respected for his news judgment and managerial sanity," said MinnPost.com's David Brauer.

Wieffering is going to be a senior strategist for the Minneapolis-based Haberman firm. He promises he will not be pitching former colleagues stories or "banging out press releases.",

More info here, I'm sure: Wieffering's LinkedIn page.

Is grad school today a place to learn or to hide?

Or is it a great place to experiment with new ideas, new techniques and pick up new skills?

This morning's guest on mediabistro.com's Morning Media Menu is doing all of the above.

It's worth a few minutes to listen to Vadim Lavrusik who has started grad school after experience as a contributing writer at Mashable.com, a contributor for Poynter Online's E-Media Tidbits, and a journalist who has written for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Minnesota Daily and the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

He discusses how grad school is a good place to explore the new journalistic landscapes as well as traditional issues.

On his blog yesterday, Vadim explained:

I personally think that journalists have an opportunity to not only gain valuable skills at journalism school, but also experiment in ways that they might not be able to in the workforce.

You also can follow Vadim Lavrusik on Twitter.

Star-Tribune Kindle Edition

Mediaweek.com reports that Minneapolis's Star-Tribune has revealed a new edition of the paper for the Kindle E-reader.
The Kindle device and software, developed by an Amazon.com subsidiary, allows readers to purchase and read a black-and-white edition of many newspapers around the country.

According to the report, The Star-Tribune edition costs $10 per month, or 75 cents a day—25 cents more than the cover price of a weekday edition.
And other Kindle edition prices are similar.
The Boston Globe, the Chicago Tribune and The Washington Post all charge $10 per month.

USA Today charges $11.99, The New York Times $13.99, and The Wall Street Journal costs $14.99 per month.

View the story here.

Star Tribune Co. files re-organization paperwork

Editor & Publisher reports that The Star Tribune Co. filed a reorganization plan in U.S. Bankruptcy court Thursday, with a goal to emerge from Chapter 11 protection this fall.

Publisher and chairman Chris Harte said in a statement that he is confident that the newspaper will be in better shape when it returns, but that he does have plans to leave the paper, eventually.
Since the Star Tribune entered bankruptcy in January, it has drawn up agreements with 94 percent of unionized employees.
The Star Tribune says the agreements reached cost savings the company needs: cutting labor costs by $20 million a year.

View the story here.

Business news has new significance

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that since the sink of the economy, viewership for business and financial news has risen, leading to the popularity of finance news and the journalists who cover it.

The story notes that national networks like CNBC, CNNMoney.com and Fox Business Network have all seen an increase in viewers since the Lehman Brothers filed for bankrupcy Sept 15, 2008.

And primarily female reporters covering the financial meltdown have gained esteem on the beat.

From the story:

"Sandra Smith, a reporter for Fox Business Network, has a less piggish take on why women reporters have stood out in the last couple of years.
'I think females can do a very good job of showing the softer side when covering these kinds of stories,' said Smith, who hails from Chicago. 'I can't tell you the number of victims I've talked to who have lost so much of their net worth. You can't just treat them like their only purpose is to fulfill a story.'"

Chronicling the Bear Stearns collapse

Casey Common of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune offers his analysis of "Street Fighters," a new book which chronicles the demise of Bear Stearns.
Wall Street Journal reporter Kate Kelly wrote the book after chronicling the Bear Stearns' dismantling in a three-part series for the paper.
That series served as the book's foundation.
Common says the book is "tightly written" and that it "zooms in on the three days leading to the fire sale of Bear Stearns to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co."
To read more about the book click here.