A focus on post-recession coverage

Nancy Barnes, the editor of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, writes how the paper’s business news staff is examining the signs of the economic recovery.

Barnes writes, “What isn’t familiar is the depth of the collapse of the housing market, the entrenched nature of unemployment and the nagging questions about whether this is a permanent change to our economy more than a cyclical one.

“Our reporting cannot answer that question, which bedevils some of the nation’s top economists, but we can use our reporting power to explore how it is affecting life in our back yards.

“As Minnesotans, along with other Americans, struggle to adjust to these new economic realities, reporters from our local news, business, and lifestyles staffs are fanning out this year to chronicle the lasting impact of the Great Recession for families, workplaces, businesses and lifestyles.

“Business Editor Todd Stone said his reporters will be watching the health of the economy through the housing market, investment, employment trends and consumer behavior.”

Read more here.