Veteran correspondent Ken Fireman will be leaving Newsday at the end of next week to head up Bloomberg's government coverage. Fireman's been with the Long Island paper for 17 years and in Washington for the last eight.

He says that he'll start his new post, where he'll lead a 33-member reporter and editor team, on April 4. "The job at Bloomberg will give me a chance to work with some very talented people, and help shape government coverage for a large and important news organization that wants to expand its horizons and maximize its impact," he told Fishbowl this afternoon.

So amid concerns about "slow growth" for the Tribune-owned company, and Fireman's departure coming two weeks after Laurie Garrett's blistering departure, can we officially start talking about a Newsday brain drain?