Reed hires as Chicago Tribune business columnist

Robert Reed, a former editor of Crain’s Chicago Business, has been hired as the business columnist for the Chicago Tribune, reports Robert Feder.

Feder writes, “‘We continue to make investments in the business section as we cover the companies and issues that are important to our readers,’ Mary Ellen Podmolik, associate managing editor/business, said in a statement Wednesday. ‘Bob has had a long and distinguished journalism career in Chicago. We look forward to him bringing his voice to the Chicago Tribune.’

“Reed, 62, most recently was director of programming for the Better Government Association. He resigned from the nonprofit watchdog group last June in a disagreement over changes in the organization’s structure and revisions in its investigative strategy.

“At the Tribune, Reed is replacing Phil Rosenthal as lead business columnist. On Tuesday the Tribune confirmed a report here that Rosenthal was being reassigned after 11 years as a columnist in the business section.

“In an email to Tribune staffers Wednesday, managing editor Peter Kendall announced that Rosenthal was moving to the sports department as an ‘enterprise writer.’ Kendall wrote: ‘Tribune Sports coverage attracts an enormous audience online and in print, and we want to make it even better and keep it growing. Phil will bring his sharp sensibility to Chicago sports and tell great stories.'”

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