"Sam Zell may be a great guy and a great businessman, but I don't think he gets journalism and I don't think a lot of the people he brought in get journalism." -- Mike Smith, executive director of the Media Management Center at Northwestern University.
Smith spoke in a video on the topic of Sam Zell and the condition of the Tribune Co., which I happened to stumble upon tonight. Check it out below. He's got some interesting thoughts and critiques, but as many of us know, we're up against certain harsh, financial conditions -- many of which we had no control in creating.
But is whether Sam Zell "gets" journalism really the point? He cares, first and foremost, about running a business for a hefty profit and servicing our massive debt. He hasn't really made a secret of his intentions and his approach. Honestly, I don't really expect Sam Zell to care about journalism anymore than I expect him to care about me or you or your colleague in the next cubicle.
But you know who should care about journalism? You.
If you're still working at The Sun, you should care. If you're still picking up The Sun and reading it -- in print or online -- I hope you care. I hope you care enough to continue to set high expectations for us. I hope you care enough to write at least an email to Sun management when you're annoyed about something -- and a kind note when you're pleased we did something right.
But we live in a pretty tough city. I wonder: if The Sun truly stumbles or falls, will anyone care?
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
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2 comments:
I'm a subscriber and I care. A lot, to paraphrase Faith No More. The typos have reached epic porportions since the last round of cuts. It makes me sad.
When it comes to The Sun, I am convinced that Sam Zell & Tribune Company management really don't care anything about local news. Case in point is its lack of relevant soccer coverage. Crystal Palace Baltimore advanced to the United Soccer Leagues Division 2 semifinals and the Baltimore Bays captured national soccer championships in the under-15 & under-18 age divisions, but both were for the most part ignored by The Sun who would instead have the DC United results in its Sports Digest roundup column. It should also be mentioned that the newspaper has not adequately addressed either the city's public transportation crisis or the plans for building the new arena on the site of the current one being an investment disaster waiting to happen.
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