Minneapolis biz editor Wieffering leaving for PR job

Eric Wieffering, who oversaw business and local news at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, is leaving for a public relations job in the area, according to a memo from editor Nancy Barnes obtained by MinnPost.com’s David Brauer.

Barnes wrote, “Eric has accepted a senior position at Haberman, a Minneapolis-based public relations, branding and strategic communications firm. He will play a key role in helping that firm grow and expand its service offerings. His last day with us will be a week from Friday.

“I’ve written a lot of these announcements over the years, but this one is more difficult than most.  Eric has been a terrific reporter, editor and leader during what has turned out to be the most tumultuous period any of us has ever seen in this business and at this paper. His staff knows him to be steady, demanding, and sophisticated in his thinking about reporting and story development. Those skills are hard to come by.

“Eric has worked for the Star Tribune for more than a decade. He joined the paper in October 1998 to cover the Internet boom, and eventually became a general assignment enterprise reporter in business. He was promoted to a team leader in business in 2004, and handled some of our biggest news stories including the bankruptcy and strike at Northwest Airlines, the Sale of Marshall Fields, the Petters scandal, and the meltdown in our real estate markets. Eric served as an interim investigations editor before becoming business editor in May of 2007.”

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