Biz journalist Greising joins Chicago business advocacy group

David Greising, a former business columnist at the Chicago Tribune and reporter for BusinessWeek, is joining Economic Business Chicago, an economic development arm of the city, reports Shia Kapos of Crain’s Chicago Business.

Kapos writes, “Mr. Greising, 52, is known for his ability to make complicated business jargon sound like prose — and for his willingness to write about business in a forthright (some might say critical) manner. He left Tribune in 2009, after joining the newspaper 11 years earlier from BusinessWeek.

“Those characteristics came through in his work at the Chicago News Cooperative, which folded last month, a victim of underfunding. The organization operated as a nonprofit with the goal of one day being profitable.

“Mr. Greising was managing editor and general manager, an unusual role that had him straddling the editorial and business sides of a news operation. Along with writing and editing, he worked to bring in advertising business to the publication’s twice-weekly pages and website.

“It will be interesting to watch how Mr. Greising is able to transfer his skills as a dogged reporter to a consulting role with an organization full of business folks. No doubt his twinkly-eyed grin will get him far.”