Meet 3 new leaders in the Star Tribune newsroom

The Star Tribune announced last week three new leaders to oversee the state's largest newsroom. Maria Reeve, who is rejoining the company after four years leading the Houston Chronicle and spearheading a new content initiative with Hearst's Texas properties, will oversee daily news operations and build the company's newly forming Today Desk, which focuses on breaking and trending news topics.

Eric Wieffering, who has been with the company since 1998 in various roles, from business reporter, columnist and editor to most recently deputy managing editor for enterprise and investigative reporting, will oversee the newsroom's content teams. And Chase Davis, who has been deputy managing editor leading digital teams, is now the head of strategy and transformation.

Get to know all three of them a little better with this Q&A.

Why did you choose the path of journalism?

As a kid, I loved to read. I read Nancy Drew, Judy Blume, the classics. I also really liked magazines like Ebony Jr., Sports Illustrated, Glamour and Omni. I thought that would be a career path, but I had an internship at a magazine one summer and the pace drove me crazy. I needed more speed in the work. I loved a good story and I was intently curious about things I didn't know. As I matured, I realized the power and responsibility of a journalist, and I was hooked.

You spent the past four years with Hearst, including as executive editor of the Houston Chronicle and most recently overseeing content initiatives for its Texas publications. What are some of the systems and ideas happening there that you intend to bring to the Star Tribune?

I think every newsroom is grappling with how to reach readers with the information they need for their lives. What I hope to bring here is a focus on using data to inform decisions, putting readers first and really allowing ourselves to experiment and be nimble. Fast, first.

You rose quickly at Hearst over the past four years. Why come back to the Star Tribune now?

Because exciting things are happening at the Star Tribune. I want to apply what I've learned in other roles in other newsrooms here. I've spent the majority of my professional career in the Twin Cities, my children were born here, and I want to be part of an institution that makes the community stronger. I built a community of friends and found family here. I joined a sorority here (Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.). There's a reporter who held my then-nine month old as I finished a story. My son is now 26. That reporter was one of the first ones to welcome me back.

What do you do when you aren't working?

I'm a literal soccer mom, so I'm either dropping my son off at soccer practice or going to a game. I also still love to read fiction, cook, hang out with friends and binge fun stuff on Netflix.

Where are your favorite places to go in Minnesota?

Any state park! I also like running River Road and Como Lake.

What do you appreciate most about Minnesota or Minnesotans?

The earnestness with which most Minnesotans approach their neighbors and communities, especially as the region becomes more diverse. I also appreciate the seasons here. Fall is my favorite!

What's one thing you want to accomplish in your role in the new year?

I want to get the Today Desk up and rolling. I hope we have an immediate impact on readers' interest in returning to our site to see the great stories we're working on.

Why did you choose the path of journalism?

My childhood home had very few books, but we always had newspapers. My parents were immigrants — first to Canada and then the U.S. — and English was my father's second language. They relied on daily newspapers — the Winnipeg Free Press, the Montreal Gazette, the Boston Globe — to understand their new world. I still remember getting lost in the stories and pictures from around the world that appeared on our doorstep every day.

Your new role is to oversee the newsroom's content teams and manage news verticals. What exactly does that mean and how might readers notice changes?

It means identifying and investing more resources — people, strategy, tools, etc. — in journalism that current and future Star Tribune subscribers value most. An example: We have more reporters dedicated to covering politics in Minnesota than any other news outlet in the state, and the stories that team produces generate deep reader engagement. How can we build on that and reach even more subscribers and potential subscribers, especially heading into an important election year? Should we be hosting candidate debates or forums? Should we do anything different with our daily politics newsletter? Those are the kinds of conversations we'll be having, with folks from across the newsroom and the rest of the company, about a number of vital topic areas.

You left journalism for a year. Why did you leave and why did you come back?

Seems like a lifetime ago, but the Star Tribune's future looked uncertain in 2009. The private equity group that owned us then had just filed bankruptcy. I was a little restless and jumped at an exciting new opportunity. But I missed the newsroom culture, its sense of purpose and the impact of its work more than I ever expected. By the time I returned — exactly 365 days later — the Star Tribune had a new publisher and new story to tell.

What is the most rewarding thing about what you do?

Boy, there's a lot to choose from! I think these days it boils down to this: Working with so many colleagues who demonstrate every day the critically important role journalism plays in the civic, cultural, economic and emotional lives of Minnesotans.

What's the least glamorous thing you do?

File expense reports.

What do you do when you aren't working?

I make time every day to exercise — usually running outside or riding an indoor bike. My wife and I also stay close to our four grown children, and spend as much time as we can with our two grandsons.

Where are your favorite places to go in Minnesota?

I was a competitive runner for three decades, and loved going to races in small towns that still have a thriving Main Street.

What do you appreciate most about Minnesota or Minnesotans?

I moved to Minnesota — 1,200 miles from friends and family on the East Coast — in my mid-20s, not imagining I'd still be here this many years later. I still think the rich diversity of Minnesota's cultural institutions, economy, environment and its people are its strongest attributes (and still something of a national secret). No state is perfect, but Minnesotans care deeply about protecting and enhancing these attributes and making them more available to everyone.

Why did you choose the path of journalism?

I credit my journalism adviser at St. Louis Park High School, Mim Kagol, for taking what was an idle curiosity and nurturing it into a passion and ultimately a career. I haven't had a chance to tell her that, so I hope she or her family sees this and that it brightens their day.

You started your career as a reporter but switched to the more technical side of news operations, including managing the systems that underpin the content of news sites. Why and what perspective does that give you on the stories the Star Tribune does?

I came up as an investigative reporter and was asked to move into management pretty early in my career. It wasn't easy at first — I loved reporting, and I still miss it sometimes — but it also quickly became clear that my odd background in journalism and technology might be more useful in helping our industry navigate its shift toward a more digital future.

As a reporter, the thing I cared most about was knowing my work had an impact. One lesson I've taken from having a foot in the technology world is that the products we build and the journalism we produce are two halves of a whole. Having an impact means not only telling important stories, but also making sure they reach people at the right times and places, and in formats that resonate.

Besides working at various publications around the country, you've spent the past year or so studying regional news operations and different approaches that they are taking. What changes might we see related to those?

One example is that we're rethinking how we cover breaking and trending news. Many of our peers have made changes to their newsroom structures over the years to support a faster and more free-flowing approach to daily news coverage. If Minnesotans are talking about something, we need to be there — and quickly. Hopefully our readers will begin seeing the results of those efforts very soon.

What's one thing you want to accomplish in your role in the new year?

Pursuing great stories with fairness and rigor will always be at the heart of what we do. But increasingly we also need to think about how that journalism works alongside products and technology to fit the needs and habits of our audience.

My hope is that over the next year, readers will see some meaningful changes in the way we present our journalism — everything from the types of stories we do, to the formats we use to tell those stories, to the platforms that host them.

What is the most rewarding thing about what you do?

Figuring out a sustainable model for local news is one of the most urgent challenges facing not just our industry, but also our democratic society. We're lucky at the Star Tribune to have the talent, resources and community support to help figure that out. It's hard to imagine a more fun and rewarding way to spend a career.

What's the least glamorous thing you do?

Fun fact: I started learning how to code in middle school, and I still do it almost every day. This morning I wrote a tiny program to fix a bunch of typos in a giant spreadsheet. If that's not glamorous I don't know what is.

What do you do when you aren't working?

I'm a climber, so I spend a lot of time dreaming about and/or preparing for trips to the mountains. I've also adopted cycling since moving back to Minnesota. The bike infrastructure both in the Twin Cities and across the state really is second to none.

Where are your favorite places to go in Minnesota?

As a guy who spends a lot of time outdoors, I first must shamefully admit that I have never been to the Boundary Waters. We'll fix that soon enough, but meanwhile my wife and I are big fans of the North Shore. Our toddler would also like to throw in a plug for Westwood Hills Nature Center in St. Louis Park. He's a big fan of the snakes.

What do you appreciate most about Minnesota or Minnesotans?

Tell me if this sounds familiar: I grew up here, moved away for a bunch of years, thought I'd never come back, then ended up getting sucked in by the many undeniable things that make our state special — among them family, community and a sense of rootedness that you just don't feel in other places. Also, winter. I love it. Bring it on.