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*** UPDATED x1 *** Report: Zell tried to use Tribune to pressure Blagojevich on Wrigley deal
Saturday, Oct 9, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller [Bumped up for even greater visibility.] *** UPDATE *** From Bruce Dold at the Chicago Tribune editorial board…
Mr. Dold insists that this blog post as originally written was somehow “defamatory.” I talked with Ms. Lipinski yesterday, after she told the New York Times that Sam Zell did appear to be attempting to influence her. She called late Thursday, but she did not want to be quoted or paraphrased and made it clear she didn’t want to gin up a new story. She did urge me to update my post. However, I wasn’t exactly sure how to do that without some sort of even deep background statement - for which I didn’t have permission. However, to keep peace with the big boys, I will say that Ms. Lipinski was insistent yesterday that everybody on the Tribune edit board are honest folks who would never be swayed by the top dog. I told Mr. Dold that I would print his response, so I did. And if he ever decides to respond to my other questions I will be more than happy post them as soon as I see them. * Sam Zell allegedly tried to use the Tribune editorial board to further his own business interests…
You would think that the editorial page would’ve come clean on this little escapade. Lipinksi was one of the saner members of that editorial board and widely respected. She told the New York Times that the Blagojevich episode led to her resignation. There’s been no coverage about why she left until now. According to the surveillance tapes, Rod Blagojevich was attempting to cut a deal with Zell on Wrigley Field, but he wanted people fired from the edit board. The Tribune subsequently claimed that Zell exerted no influence at all on the board, but Lipinski clearly believes otherwise. Keep in mind that the Tribune broke the story about Blagojevich being under FBI surveillance the Friday before he was arrested. Blagojevich used the intervening days to try to undo some of his alleged misdeeds. If not for that Tribune story, he might have gone through with it. Crain’s published a story about the Tribune Company’s reaction, but it didn’t mention the explosive Blagojevich allegations buried deep within the New York Times front-page story. Zell is no longer running day to day TribCo operations, but he remains the company’s chairman. His most recent contribution was to Bill Brady…  * Ironically enough, the Tribune published a laughable column today by Leonard Pitts…
Standards and ethics, eh? Stones. Glass houses. Etc.
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- fedup dem - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 9:19 am:
Rich, after reading this I feel even better about having cancelled my subscription to the Tribune (even though it was Sundays only and I was getting that rag for just 50 cents a week).
- A Springfield Veteran - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 9:32 am:
The story by the New York Times left me disgusted and very sad. What once was a reliable information vehical is now an Enquier like rag run by a group of children who associate a newspaper with “Rock en Roll”. It’s all show biz. Says a great deal about what our culture has become.
- The Captain - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 9:32 am:
You know, in retrosepct Zell was the perfect person to buy the Cubs newspaper.
- MOON - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 9:33 am:
It is time for the public to realize the the media including newspapers, television and radio have their own agenda. They, for the most part are partisan, non-objective and self serving. They are forever slinging mud,often without any facts and much speculation, at many elected officials in hope that something might “stick”.
In my opinion they are less trustworthy than those they are always “investigating”.
- Carl Nyberg - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 9:41 am:
Hey, Leonard Pitts, please tell me about all the professional journalists who work for corporate media who were held accountable for being wrong about the Iraq War.
The elites in this country protect each other. The professional journalists are mostly propagandists for the elites.
Notice all the brilliant media coverage of how the financial sector screwed-up the economy royally. Where are the articles detailing how fraud was used to make a mess of the economy?
Or would that distract average voters from the debates the Democrats and Republicans say we should have? What are we debating this time? Whether the Tea Party is racist? Answering that question will really help the economy.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 9:43 am:
The NYT story is a blockbuster. Why wasn’t it reported by Crain’s or the Sun-Times? Probably because a lot of those guys still have delusions about getting jobs at the old Trib.
The Trib, including its editorial board, is going to have to respond. And they’d better be careful, because if they try to discredit Lipinski, they’ll be slamming their own symbol of integrity for many years.
Reading all this nonsense, you have to wonder where that Paragon of All that is Good and Right, John Kass, has been. Surely, he wouldn’t witness these goings on and remain silent.
- Rahm's Parking Meter - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 9:47 am:
This explains why the Tribune has gone nuts lately.
- MKA1985 - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 9:48 am:
Can’t disagree more with MOON’s generalization of the media. For every Tribune, there is an equally ethical counterpart.
- Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 9:49 am:
I read that Pitts column last night. What a piece of self-congratulatory crap. Yes, there are good citizen journalists and bad ones. But helllloooo, there are a hell of a lot of bad journalists out there who don’t give a damn about the facts.
- Davey Boy Smithe - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 9:50 am:
Wasn’t the entire article pretty much the same message/idea that Steve Rhodes tried to write about and was let go at NBCChicago.com because they were pressured not to run the story? Why did it take almost a year plus to final come out?
- Secret Square - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 9:51 am:
“Journalism, like any profession worthy of the name, has standards and ethics, and if you don’t sign on to those, I can no more trust you than I can a doctor who refused the Hippocratic oath or a lawyer who failed the bar exam.”
Well, having once been a full time professional journalist myself, I can tell you that the standards and ethics of good journalism do NOT take years of esoteric study, a genius IQ, or an advanced degree to understand. Tell the truth, get both (or all) sides of the story, and quote people accurately — it’s not that complicated.
Personally I find that in many cases, citizen journalists/bloggers do a better job of covering the news in their communities than the “real” reporters do.
Also, is Pitts aware that many doctors DON’T take the Hippocratic Oath anymore, at least not the way it was originally written?
- dupage dan - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 9:54 am:
Hearst, McCormick, etal…..”News flash, newspaper owners exert influence on editorial page”
Nothing new here, folks, move along now.
Maybe we think those times are past but why should we think so? The good news is that we can get info from more than one source and can make up our own minds. We can even bypass Mr Pitts.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 9:55 am:
I read that NYT piece and wondered when Bob Greene is going to get hired back.
Has Eric Zorn pontificated on any of the story or is he going to wait until he cashes his next paycheck?
- Louis G. Atsaves - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 9:58 am:
I no longer subscribe to the Chicago Tribune. The Zell group changes to the newspaper in my opinion hurt more than helped. My subscription was cancelled after nearly 30 years.
I do question the conclusion of your posting. Something still isn’t making sense. As Zell was in negotiations with Blagojevich’s administration over Wrigley Field, I would think that Zell would have told Lipinski to back off of further Blagojevich investigations and criticisms, instead of demanding that they be ramped up, to protect or assist in his negotiations. By ramping up the criticisms, wouldn’t Zell be harming his negotiating position? Or allow Blagojevich to brag that he turned down the sale in the face of the threat of ramped up criticisms from the Tribune?
The NYT story does show that the Tribune denials of pressuring editorial staffers ring hollow.
The timing of the Tribune exposing the FBI selling of the senate seat investigation has always bothered me. I understand a journalist’s burning desire to scoop the competition and be first with any story but when that burning desire conflicts with an official investigation or compromises it, I find myself conflicted.
I would probably still support the burning desire to scoop the competition under the First Amendment if it happened again.
Anyway, just my two cents on these subjects.
- Amalia - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 10:01 am:
the New York Times story on the Tribune was an astounding
look at an organization that glorifies disgusting sexist
behavior. offering money to a waitress, who staff knew,
to flash her breasts? fake name of a restaurant that
is sexist on the bio of a female staffer who participated?
using the p word to a staffer? can we bring up an organization
on federal bias charges? I welcome a Mary Schmich
and Eric Zorn dialogue on the work atmosphere at their paper.
yes, the Zell finance information is horrible and this story
furthers that. the bombshell in the Times story is that
the Tribune hates women.
- John Bambenek - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 10:03 am:
In Illinois, even the media can be corrupt.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 10:05 am:
Lipinski’s silence until now is deeply troubling. She failed in her duty to protect her readers and failed in her duty to protect her employees. She should have come forward sooner about the pressure from the publisher, and she also should have come forward sooner — and either gone public or to the EEOC — on the harassing atmosphere in the workplace.
- Captain America - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 10:15 am:
I with sadness cancelled the Trib at the time Zell took over.
However, it’s hard for me to believe Lipinski doesn’t have her OWN editorial axes to grind. Liberals can be just as low as conservatives.
- MOON - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 10:15 am:
MKA1985
Your own post proves my point. Since when is a 50% batting average ( “for every Tribune there is an equally ethical counterpart” ) a paragon of virtue. Hell, the elected officials get it right more than 50% of the time, and yet they are the constant target of this yellow journalism.
- Nearly Normal - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 10:15 am:
The Tribune and WGN radio are mere shadows of their former selves. I no longer subscribe to the paper and listen only a little to the radio station that was once on in my house for several hours.
Sad. I bet the Colonel is rotating in his grave.
- just sayin' - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 10:17 am:
Leonard Pitts sounds like a bitter dinosaur.
And journalists certainly do NOT have standards and ethics like doctors and lawyers do. No test, no continuing education requirements, no regulatory body etc. Pitts’ column is a good example of how low the bar really is in journalism and why the Trib and other old papers are dying.
- Jaded - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 10:22 am:
Not sure what the Brady campaign donation has to do with anything. Zell has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to politicians in the past. Names like Blagojevich, Claypool, Daniels, Daley, Topinka, Edgar, Houlihan, Hynes, Peraica, Ryan, Schoenberg, Sufferdin, etc.
Looks like he spreads it around pretty good. Is it such a shock he would write a $25,000 check to Bill Brady? Heck he gave Topinka $30k in ‘06 and his wife gave Blago $75k in 02.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 10:24 am:
Nearly, the Colonel practically invented using his news pages to advance his business and personal interests. McCormick Place?
JB, newspapers all over the world have used their pages to advance their business interests.
When I was in the Quad-Cities, Lee Enterprises leaned on the Davenport, IA, City Council to pay for clearing an old industrial site and creating a TIF so they could build a new building and plant for the QC Times.
When they discovered coal tar in the ground, the city wanted Lee to help with the millions it was going to cost to get rid of it. The QC Times beat the city council on its pages until they cried uncle and the taxpayers paid the full freight.
You wouldn’t have known it by reading the Times, because all the stories talked about what a great corporate citizen Lee was in “revitalizing” the city.
- Louis G. Atsaves - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 10:31 am:
Just finished reading the Pitts column. I guess Michael Moore falls into the citizen journalist category, but Pitts seems more interested in taking on right wing citizen journalists.
What Pitts seemed offended about is that many citizen journalists come up with pretty interesting stuff the MSM misses.
Pitts fails to mention the recent MSM behavior of picking up information from citizen journalists and running it. Without checking to see if video was edited before it was spoon fed to them. Or checking how reliable it is.
Where was the worry about standards and ethics when this happened? I didn’t see Pitts writing columns screaming that such stuff shouldn’t be published by the MSM.
Maybe its time he got off his high horse and start demanding that the MSM elevate their practices and standards, instead of lowering them.
- Secret Square - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 10:36 am:
“an astounding look at an organization that glorifies disgusting sexist behavior.”
It’s one thing to say “Don’t worry, we’re not going to enforce some rigidly PC standard of conduct, and you aren’t going to get fired for OCCASIONAL curse words or sexist/dirty jokes.” I wouldn’t have a problem with that. However, I WOULD have a big problem with a boss like Michaels who encourages people to behave like lecherous, profane jerks on the grounds that this encourages “creativity.” It obviously doesn’t.
- Nearly Normal - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 10:39 am:
Word, at least with the Colonel you knew where he was coming from. The new clowns are erratic and seem more slimy or something.
Jaded, the only candidate Zell had given money so far in 2010 is Brady. The Trib does endorsements and you got to admit that the paper has been easy on Brady. They even printed a picture of him and his wife inside their Catholic church in Bloomington. Signal to the Chicago Catholics? There are lots of other places to take photos in the town.
- CircularFiringSquad - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 10:48 am:
Perhaps Ms. Lipinski could explain the time frame between her Zell meeting and her disclosure….did she sign some confidentiality agreement?
BTW many believe the same agenda was used on Madigan and the slop produced there
Zell may be gone but the same mindset is still in place.
BTW-2 no one has suggested that the Trib was offended by Blagoof or ran off to the G to report the shakedown/extortion.
Gotta bet all the Trib endorsees will be ultra proud of their distinction
- Jaded - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 10:50 am:
“you got to admit that the paper has been easy on Brady” Well Duh, they are the Republican paper in the state and always have been (for the 20 years I have been following this crap anyway). The Sun Times loves the Democrats. Since when is this news?
If guys like Sam Zell weren’t writing $25k checks to Brady, then that would be news. Bad news for Brady that is.
- Xgman - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 11:11 am:
I too no longer read the Tribune. It’s political endorsements over the last year or so apparently can be improperly influenced. Someone on the Editorial Board needs to speak up; its endorsements don’t mean much anymore as a result.
- olddog - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 11:29 am:
Was anybody else a little uncomfortable with the heavy reliance on anonymous sources in the NYT story? I don’t doubt the overall accuracy of what’s being alleged, the hostile workplace environment, the lack of newspapering experience in Zell’s top management, etc. And I was in the news business long enough to fully understand why sources wish to be anonymous with stories like this one. But I wish there’d been more corroboration throughout, and I thought the story’s tone was maybe just a little bit off-key … appearing, as it did, in the flagship of another major metro newspaper chain that’s in competition with Tribune properties for national news and has its own history of corporate culture meltdowns.
- dupage dan - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 11:39 am:
@NN,
=Word, at least with the Colonel you knew where he was coming from. The new clowns are erratic and seem more slimy or something=
You could bone up on the history of some of these folk. That might help you to learn how slimy they really were.
- Say WHAT? - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 11:39 am:
We canceled out Trib early this year. Who needs the Trib? We have Rich Miller!
- Piling on - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 11:52 am:
Olddog,
That could be a valid point on the moral bankruptcy stuff, but the Zell-Blagojevich-newspaper pressure stuff is on-the-record from Lipinski. That’s pretty damning.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 11:54 am:
Olddog, it’s one reason I focused solely on this Blagojevich stuff. On the record, trusted source. Boom.
- hisgirlfriday - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 1:01 pm:
That statement from Pitts is such arrogant nonsense. I know some J-School profs try to sell their students on the idea that it’s worth it to go into the field where you will be hated and mistrusted by a wide swath of the public and get crappy pay and work horrible hours, because you are entering into a noble profession imperative for a flourishing democracy through its function of the Fourth Estate. As someone who typically likes reading what Pitts has to say, it’s disappointing to see he buys into and perpetuates that fantasy popular with Baby Boomer journalists who convinced themselves that Woodward and Bernstein made it so that all journalists are heroes to America.
It sure would be a lot more beneficial if more journalists realized, especially in the age of blogs and Twitter, that journalists are and always have been simply people who hold themselves out to be professional citizens. Whether practicing yellow, totally biased journalism for a partisan point of view or muckraking in the Gilded Age or practicing “objective” he said/she said conflict bias journalism… they’re just citizens who want everyone else to think they’re pro citizens. Paid journalists are just professional citizens in the sense that they found a way to get paid to be a citizen for their profession.
But beside the lack of any professional oaths or licensing, journalists simply don’t have any more rights under the First Amendment than anyone else. No more rights under things like the Freedom of Information Act. All the rights they have they get from their citizenship, not from their journalist status.
“Was anybody else a little uncomfortable with the heavy reliance on anonymous sources in the NYT story?”
Anonymous or not, I believe it.
But what pissed me off more than the Blago/edit board pressure (why wouldn’t he who owns the ink gets a say in what’s done with it?) or the sex/locker room antics was the crappy treatment of Trib employees and just destruction of a business that not only was and is a public trust but a huge employer of Illinoisans.
Newspapers have been cash cows for decades, but they’ve been cash cows that just give a regular amount of cash. Not necessarily always a lot of cash, but you could count on them to provide solid but not great advertising/readership revenue now and in the future.
Yet newspaper/media ownership in most every case has screwed up that very profitable model searching for ways to up that stock price and increase dividends to shareholders short-term to the long-term detriment of the industry with so many layoffs and lack of investments in people both on the editorial and advertising sides and so much consolidation removing their connection to their communities that the end result is that the cash cow dies, having been starved so much and squeezed dry beyond what it can give so that it becomes unrecognizable to the readers and community that used to rely on it so they give up on it.
It’s really tragic.
[/soapbox off]
- olddog - Thursday, Oct 7, 10 @ 1:23 pm:
I noticed that, Rich, and I agree 100 percent.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Oct 12, 10 @ 9:03 am:
It’s always hilarious when journalists who have made a living publishing unpleasant truths about others dive into the bunker when that firepower is aimed at them.
A search on the NY Times site doesn’t turn up any objection to the source story by Lipinski or Dold.
Here’s what Lipinski said about Zell:
“It was hard to avoid the conclusion that he was trying to use the newspaper to put pressure on Blagojevich.”
Now Dold releases a carefully worded one-sentence response only, and Lipinski wants an “update,” but has nothing to say.
When they were reporters, they wouldn’t have put up with that nonsense.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Oct 12, 10 @ 6:38 pm:
Rich,
Did you see the new story on the Trib site?
http://chicagobreakingbusiness.com/2010/10/tribune-co-executive-sends-offensive-memo.html
I think that Mr. Kern has been reading this page.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Oct 12, 10 @ 8:22 pm:
Outraged columns by Kass, Zorn, Smich, and editorial by Dold, to follow, right?
Don’t hold your breath. They’re whipped; Zell already robbed them blind with the funky ESOP deal.
This sounds like a job for Dennis Byrne. He’ll spin it so it’s the fault of an Obama or Madigan. Any old Obama or Madigan will do.
Maybe that old Trib payroller, Paul Lis, can set it right.
Trib Co. has been run by lightweights for years, even before Zell, but these guys are absurd.