Ed Darby, who left Fortune magazine to become the financial editor for the Chicago Sun-Times in the late '50s, died Saturday at the age of 81.

Darby was an early advocate of transforming business journalism, moving away from reprinting news releases and toward focusing on the ideas of business leaders. As such, he "virtually invented the idea of the 'corporate strategy' profile that has become the foundation of modern business journalism," writes Dan Miller in today's Sun-Times.

Business journalism has lost one of its better practitioners. Thanks for helping to pave the way, Mr. Darby.