Strib Guild Requests Investigation of Par Ridder

Apparently struck by the rather dicey appearance problem of having your publisher accused of theft and a variety of other disreputable activities, the Star Tribune’s Guild officers this afternoon, sent the following letter to Chris Harte, of new owner, Avista Capital Partners.
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Guild colleagues,

We will be sending this letter to Chris Harte this afternoon:

April 17, 2007

To: Chris Harte

Dear Chris,

We are writing to respectfully request that the Star Tribune conduct an independent inquiry into the serious allegations made against Star Tribune publisher Par Ridder in the lawsuit filed last week.

Without commenting on the merit of the allegations, we want to convey that the lawsuit raises questions about the credibility of the Star Tribune and affects our work as journalists. We know this because of the flood of questions and comments we’ve received from readers, sources, acquaintances and others with whom we’re in contact.

In our view, an independent inquiry, and a full report of the findings, is the best way to end the ongoing distraction caused by the allegations, as well as to ensure the credibility of the Star Tribune.

Respectfully,

Jaime Chismar, Chris Serres, Pamela Miller and Pat Doyle
On behalf of the journalists of the Newspaper Guild’s Star Tribune unit