Biz Buzz for May 2008: Saying Goodbye in the Windy City

By Chris Roush croush@email.unc.edu

BUY-OUTS AT CHICAGO TRIBUNE BIZ DESK

Longtime Chicago Tribune stock market columnist Bill Barnhart is among five longtime business journalists who have accepted a buyout offer from the paper and will be leaving.

Also departing are Barnhart’s colleagues John Dowd, an assistant business editor who edits his column; Bill Sluis, who edits one of the real estate sections and writes on economic issues; Mary Umberger, who covers real estate; and Jon Van, who covers telecommunications.

“The business section has been home to a number of senior Tribune staffers, so the section is taking quite a hit,” says Barnhart (right). Apparently none of the positions will be filled. Barnhart says he plans to complete a book on U.S. Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens. “What happens after that depends in part on how well the book is received,” he says.

Barnhart is a former president of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. Barnhart has been a business writer and editor for the Chicago Tribune since 1979. His daily column offers news and commentary on the stock, bond and currency markets.

In 1997, he began a column in the Sunday Tribune business section focusing on mutual fund investing. In addition, he airs a daily financial market report on Tribune Co.’s Chicago area cable television channel, CLTV.

Sluis wrote the “Business Outlook” column for the paper. Umberger worked with Sluis on a number of recent stories. When she started covering residential real estate at the Tribune in the early 1990s, she thought it would be a short-term gig until a “real” reporting job opened up. Then she discovered she liked it and the housing market exploded into the biggest boom in its history.

Van joined the paper in 1973 after six years at the Des Moines Register. He began covering the science beat in 1977, and later moved into covering technology.

CHANGES AND PROMOTIONS AT THE FT

The Financial Times makes a number of promotions among its U.S.-based business journalists.

Francesco Guerrera becomes U.S. finance and business editor after being FT’s U.S. business editor since 2006. Guerrera now leads reporters in the financial services and corporate team and will have specific responsibilities for covering large corporations, including Citigroup, JP Morgan and General Electric.

Ben White, Wall Street correspondent, becomes U.S. banking editor. He leads coverage of Wall Street firms and brokerages. Together with Guerrera, White spearheads the FT’s coverage of financial and banking issues.

Joanna Chung becomes the U.S. financial correspondent, based in New York after working as a London-based reporter for the paper. Chung leads coverage of U.S. financial regulation and enforcement, from the SEC to the U.S. and state attorneys general. She also covers the accounting and auditing industry.

Julie MacIntosh becomes the paper’s U.S. M&A reporter after working in London. And James Politi becomes the U.S. economics and trade correspondent, based in Washington. He had covered U.S. deals.

CHANGE AT THE TOP IN PHILLY

Brian Toolan becomes the new business editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer, replacing Tony Gnoffo, who had been the business editor for the past 15 months but is returning to reporting.

Toolan has been the national editor for the Associated Press for the past two years.

The Inquirer business section has been the talk of the business journalism community in the past year because it now has a bank that sponsors a column called “Philly Inc.” The bank has its logo in the section’s masthead.

Vernon Loeb, deputy managing editor for news, wrote in a memo, “Brian currently oversees all daily and enterprise reporting nationally for the AP, managing 65 domestic news bureaus, the 35-editor National Desk, the Health & Science Desk and the National Reporting Team. The Hartford Courant, under Brian’s leadership from 1998 to 2006, won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2002, 2004 and 2006.”

Toolan also spent 16 years at the Philadelphia Daily News, from 1982 to 1998, where he started as a layout editor in sports and went on to become sports editor, assistant managing editor for news and, ultimately, managing editor.

Toolan is a 1972 graduate of St. Bonaventure University and began his journalism career at the Scranton Tribune as a reporter and sports writer.

BOSS WATCH

Peter Mantius (right) becomes the new editor of the Hartford Business Journal. He previously had been the editor of the Long Island Business News and had worked at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution…Anna Raff becomes an AME for the energy group at Dow Jones Newswires. Raff has been an assistant news editor for the group… Neal Templin, previously the Texas bureau chief at The Wall Street Journal, becomes the editor in charge personal finance coverage in New York. Taking his place in Dallas is Susan Warren, previously the deputy Texas bureau chief. Also, Larry Light becomes the deputy editor for the Money & Investing section of The Journal. He had been a senior editor at Forbes…Michelle LaRoche, an AME in charge of Dow Jones News Service’s spot news desk, becomes the wire’s new editor for training and recruiting, according to a memo from Rick Stine, senior editor of Americas. Ben Siegel, who has been an assistant news editor, replaces LaRoche…Noelle Knox, the national real estate reporter for USA Today, becomes real estate editor for the Associated Press…Paul Mattson, the biz editor at the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville, moves back to the assistant biz editor slot as the paper searches for a new leader for its business desk…Andrew Morse becomes the San Francisco bureau chief for Dow Jones Newswires. It’s a new position. Morse has been a reporter for The Wall Street Journal in Tokyo. Also, Mark Long becomes a news editor on the energy team at Dow Jones Newswires. Bob Prinsky, Newswires’ executive director and senior editor for product development, retires after 43 years with the company…Antonio Prado (left) becomes the business editor at the San Luis Obispo Tribune in California. He had been assistant city editor and replaces Julie Lynem, who becomes enterprise editor.

UPPER EAST SIDE

Jonathan Clements, (right) who write the “Getting Going” personal finance column at The Wall Street Journal, leaves for a job at Citigroup. Also leaving the Journal are Sally Beatty, who joins Pfizer’s PR department, and reporter Laurie Cohen…Ron Lieber becomes the “Your Money” columnist at The New York Times. He had been managing editor at new personal finance web site FiLife and had previously written a column for The Wall Street Journal…Prabha Natarajan joins Dow Jones Newswires to cover mortgage bonds. Natarajan had covered real estate for the Washington Business Journal. Also, Giada Cardoletti begins covering emerging markets for Dow Jones Newswires…A number of changes shuffle the staff of Financial Week. Matthew Quinn becomes AME after covering mergers and acquisitions. Andrew Osterland takes over the M&A beat after covering accounting and taxes. And Nicholas Rummell moves to the accounting and tax beat after covering Washington…Peter J. Howe, a business reporter at the Boston Globe, leaves to become a business reporter for the New England Cable News network…Mark DeCambre and Kaja Whitehouse join the business desk of the New York Post. DeCambre had been at TheStreet.com, while Whitehouse covered corporate governance at Dow Jones Newswires…Stevenson Jacobs takes over the commodities beat for the Associated Press from Lauren Villagran, who has left the wire service.

WAY DOWN SOUTH

Three reporters join the business desk of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. James Dowd covers small business and legislative issues after covering education and religion at the paper. Cassandra Kimberly covers real estate and economic development. Kimberly previously covered general news. And Jim Masilak will cover the business of sports and entertainment. He had been on the sports desk…Neil Lineberger becomes the biz editor at the Gaston Gazette in North Carolina.

IN THE HEARTLAND

Jennifer Batog leaves The Milwaukee Business Journal. Reporter Rich Kirchen takes over her banking and finance beat in addition to his existing beat of retail, advertising and media.

WAY OUT WEST

Mike Cassidy becomes the new biz columnist at the San Jose Mercury News. He replaces Vindu Goel, who leaves to become deputy technology editor at the New York Times. Also, Mark Schwanhausser leaves the personal finance beat at the Mercury News to join Javelin Strategy & Research as a research analyst…Cassandra Sweet of Dow Jones Newswires moves to San Francisco to cover energy. She has been a news editor in the energy group in New Jersey…Longtime Wheels editor Mark Glover moves to the biz desk at the Sacramento Bee…Craig Harris, who covered Starbucks, Nordstrom and Amazon.com for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, leaves the paper to cover immigration for the Arizona Republic. He’s replaced by GA reporter Andrea James, who will not be replaced.

ON THE AIR

Bloomberg TV anchor Brian Sullivan leaves for a position at Fox Business Network. Sullivan was the television anchor for Bloomberg’s ‘Morning Call.’ He joined Bloomberg as a writer and editor, and began reporting on-air for Bloomberg Television live from both the Nasdaq and the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

GLOSSY GOINGS

BusinessWeek AMEs Frank Comes and Mary Kuntz leave the magazine to work in McKinsey & Co.’s publishing operations. Also, senior editor Michael France leaves for a job at Brunswick Group. Meanwhile, AME Paul Barrett returns to the magazine to oversee investigations. He had left the magazine in January to go back to the Wall Street Journal…Lea Goldman leaves Forbes to become a feature editor at Marie Claire. Anita Raghavan joins Forbes as European bureau chief. She comes from The Wall Street Journal…Lauren Goldstein Crowe, who covered the fashion industry for Conde Nast Portfolio, leaves the publication…Steven Levy joins Wired after being the chief tech writer at Newsweek.

IN MEMORY

Jerry Tune, who covered real estate for the Honolulu Star Bulletin, dies at the age of 69. Tune had worked at the paper for three decades…Lee Walczak, (right) the Washington bureau chief for BusinessWeek for 20 years, dies in late March at the age of 61. Walczak had recently worked at Bloomberg News…George Mason, the founder and former editor of the Pacific Business News in Honolulu, dies at the age of 84.

Posted April 11, 2008