Sam Zell Tells Newsday Reporters: 'We've Got to Get Off Our Ass'

On Long Island, Newsday reporters and editors are listening to Sam Zell speak to a packed auditorium--so packed that lots of Newsday folks are spilling over into a sideroom to watch a live telecast of the event. According to a person inside the room--who is BlackBerrying Media Mob with updates--Mr. Zell is wearing a striped button-down shirt without a tie.

When someone raised concerns that Newsday has recently lost a lot of high-quality journalists and asked what Mr. Zell intended to put into the paper, he said, "If the model economically works then we'll produce a superior product...Every company I've ever been with is growing. We've got to get off our ass."

When discussing the internet, Mr. Zell said, "You can do your internet thing. I'm technologically infuckingcompetent."

When someone asked Mr. Zell what he wanted to be remembered for, he replied, "I want to be remembered as someone who lived up to his word."

According to our insider, he curses a lot, he stresses the importance of profits and he is also very wrinkly.