NY Observer > Sam Zell

Sam Zell, Now in Delicious Cake Form

Matt Haber — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:10:36 -0400

Jim Romenesko posted the above photograph of a Sam Zell-themed cake served up by employees at the Tribune Company's Hartford Courant. As Mr. Romenesko wrote, "A Courant staffer couldn't resist poking Zell's eyes out—on the cake, of course."

Mmmm. Revenge has never tasted so ... bitter.

L.A. Times Terminates Sunday Book Review; Is the Opinion Section Next?

John Koblin — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:01:50 -0400

Sam Zell and Randy Michaels are about to end the Sunday Book Review at the L.A. Times and book reviews editors past are not pleased about it. Four former editors of the section—Sonja Bolle, Digby Diehl, Jack Miles and Steve Wasserman—wrote in a joint-letter to L.A. Observed complaining about the decision.

To be sure, no section of any newspaper can remain hostage to past ways of covering the news of the day. We are convinced, however, that the way forward is to increase coverage of our literary culture—a culture that every day is more vibrant and diverse in the thriving megalopolis of Los Angeles. read more »

Black and White, Red All Over: Is 2008 the Worst Year in Modern Newspaper History?

John Koblin — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:08:19 -0400

On Wednesday morning at 11 a.m., Arthur Sulzberger and Janet Robinson will be managing a conference call that, from the looks of it, won't be much fun. They'll be reporting The New York Times Company's second-quarter earnings. Last time they did one of quarterly earnings calls, The Times reported big losses; there was a plan to cut 100 newsroom jobs, some through straight-up layoffs rather than superannuation and retirement deals. And in the past few weeks, it's only gotten worse: the company's stock has fallen to a decade low, and tumbled more than 15 percent in just this month. read more »

L.A. Times U.N. Reporter, Brauchli's Wife, Resigned to Help 'Save a Body'

John Koblin — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:34:45 -0400

Newly named Washington Post executive editor Marcus Brauchli's wife, Maggie Farley, the United Nations reporter for the L.A. Times, says she quit right before the paper announced layoffs in order to "save a body." And, not surprisingly, she doesn't care much for what's happening to the paper. She tells L.A. Observed's Kevin Roderick:

"I resigned last week in the hopes that it would save a body, and with all the changes in our family and at the paper, it felt like a good time to leave and try something new. I am proud to have been part of one of the largest and strongest foreign staffs in the country, and am disheartened by what has been done to our great newspaper. read more »

Hard Zell: L.A. Times Press Department Changes the Subject

John Koblin — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:17:16 -0400

150 reporters, editors and designers at The Los Angeles Times are packing their boxes and heading home for good this week, but out of the paper's press department that's not the big news at all!

Last night, John Conroy, one of their spokesmen, sent reporters an email about a new blog the newspaper's Web site, latimes.com, is launching.

"Thought you might want to know about 'Hero Complex,' a really cool blog we’re launching," he writes. "It’ll be chock full of insider scoop from the world of comic books, sci fi, genre film/TV and all other heroic pursuits.

Right. Forgive us for initially thinking that "Hero Complex" was referring to Sam Zell and interim-publisher Randy Michaels. read more »

A Short List of Some Fired Los Angeles Times Staffers [Update]

John Koblin — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:50:28 -0400

Internal emails are circulating in the Los Angeles Times with some of the 150 names who are getting laid off at the paper. One staffer showed us the names of one email that's going around in the features department. We've sent out emails to each of them requesting confirmation. Here's who has confirmed for us so far:

We'll keep updating as they come in:

Kevin Bronson: old weekend editor, club music writer

Corie Brown: wine reporter. Corie writes: "They’ve eliminated the job of wine writer. There won’t be anyone on the features staff who writes about wine or spirits. They will go all freelance."

Janet Cromley: health writer

Casey Dolan: music writer. read more »

The Newspaper Industry's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Continues

Matt Haber — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:33:33 -0400

As you may already know, yesterday was a dark day for the newspaper industry: Layoffs at The Los Angeles Times; buyouts at The Wall Street Journal; the departure of The Chicago Times' editor-in-chief; The New York Times' stock price dipped to a decade-low as shares of McClatchy, Gannett, and News, Corporation also took hits.

Today, the hits just keep on coming. Some lowlights after the jump: read more »

Black Monday at the Los Angeles Times: Publisher David Hiller is Out, Mass Layoffs Begin

John Koblin — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:26:53 -0400

The L.A. Times' publisher David Hiller is out.

Here's the memo from Randy Michaels:

I want to let you know that David Hiller has decided to step down as publisher of The Los Angeles Times, effective immediately. David took over as publisher in October 2006, during a difficult period for the newspaper and has performed with distinction since that time. During the last six months, he has helped The Times begin making the transition to new ownership, facing new realities. Part of that transition must now include a new publisher. We are already in the process of identifying the right person to lead The Times going forward. read more »

Doomsday in L.A.: The L.A. Times Cuts 150 Newsroom Jobs

John Koblin — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:09:11 -0400

The writing has been all the wall for weeks and now the carnage has been unleashed: the L.A. Times is cutting loose 150 newsroom positions, and 250 overall. Pink slips come by Labor Day. This news comes only a few months after the paper let go 36 newsroom jobs through buyouts, and puts the total newsroom number at about 700, down from the 1,200 it had just seven years ago.

Russ Stanton's sobering memo is here.

Zell of a Pitch: 'We're Gonna Give it to 'Em'

Matt Haber — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:40:27 -0400

This morning on CNBC's Squawk Box, Carl Quintanilla interviewed Tribune owner Sam Zell about everything from the housing market to the elections to the Chicago Cubs. (This comes via Jim Romenesko.)

When the subject turned to the advertising market, Mr. Zell asked, "What ad market?" Mr. Quintanilla clarified that he meant newspaper advertisers, which prompted the outspoken Mr. Zell to bark, "I'm trying to find one of 'em!"

Here's how Mr. Zell described his newspaper business:

I think the case of Tribune, really, or newspapers in general basically comes down to producing a newspaper that the customer is willing to pay for. read more »