I know you think you have it tough. You work in an industry where
- budgets are tight,
- the pressure to perform is high,
- and people are scared of losing their jobs.
I will say this much: you don’t know bad management and a hostile work environment until you’ve worked for Sam Zell.
- Sam Zell is a U.S.-born billionaire and real estate entrepreneur. He is co-founder and Chairman of Equity Group Investments, a private investment firm. With an estimated net worth of US$5 billion, he is ranked as the 68nd richest American by Forbes. In April 2007, Zell completed a leveraged buyout of the Tribune Company, publisher of the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, and owner of the Chicago Cubs.
Sam Zell is a tough, mean, obstinate son-of-a-bitch. He will rip your head off and poop down your throat if it means that his company will earn another 23 cents.
Some say that the newspaper industry needs a guy like Zell — a man who doesn’t suffer fools and understands how profitability is linked to the actual ability to report the news. Others think Zell is a pretentious asshole who is out to kill the newspaper business and steal every last dime from his corporate holdings.
Wow. Either way, what a guy. Some things to know.
- Sam Zell once told his employees (allegedly) that it’s okay to look at porn while at work as long as they’re being productive.
- Sam Zell is openly hostile to his employees — who are reporters — and was caught on tape telling one of his employees, “F–k you.”
- Sam Zell is being sued by current and former employees of the Los Angeles Times for behaving like a bully, raiding the coffers, damaging the reputation of the company, and devaluing the employee stock program.
Oh that last point? The lawsuit I just mentioned? How about that! I’m really surprised to hear that employees are suing a guy like Zell.
I’m sure Zell is the kind of guy who has no time for Human Resources — but maybe I’m wrong and maybe HR fully supports his efforts. Maybe the SVP of Human Resources told Zell, “You know what? These employees are whiners and we need to focus on profitability. F@*k ‘em if they don’t understand capitalism. We’ll hire new jouralists — and cheaper ones — who do.”
Are there any HR pros out there who work for Tribune Company and read this blog? Can you drop me an email or post an anonymous comment and let me know what it’s like to work in Human Resources at your company? What the hell happened? Is HR totally neutered? Is your department aligned with Zell?
Inquiring minds want to know!
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Laurie,
I would have thought that as a native Chicagoan, you would have mentioned this outrage as well when bringing up the name of that sumbitch, Zell!
Of course, after playing in Miller Field this past week several Cubbies said they really liked the amenities there, and maybe the Cubs should think about tearing Wrigly down *gasp* and build a new ballpark….
Inbev Field???
Michael VanDervort
humanracehorses.blogspot.com
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http://www.prosportsdaily.com/forums/showthread.php?t=173729____________________________________________
New owners may rename Wrigley Field
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I
It seems like advocates of Zell’s style says it works and say if he wasn’t like that, it wouldn’t get the results he gets.
There always seems to be this false dichotomy: treat your employee’s decently and be less successful or be a total jackass and win. Those are your options.
I would like to see Google’s success if there were mini-tyrants running the joint. Do you think they would be more or less successful?
lance,
For all we know there ARE mini-tyrants running Google. They are taking oer the world after all.
I think we need a enw school of leadership. It is pretty simple. Hire grouchy people with right names, which would of course be those of tyrannical despots and conquerors: Alexander, Hannibal, Napoleon, Mussolini, Idi, Sam, and “Chain Saw” Al….
Business results would shoot right through the roof.
You would of course have to counter this with a more subtle reward approach. Hence, the suggestion to hire people whose name begin with “Marie”. We could serve cake…
Michael
humanracehorses.blogspot.com
As a former newspaper journalist, let me tell you that HR has nothing to do with the newsroom. During my 11 years with newspapers, I saw the HR department on my first day to fill out paperwork and that was it. Hiring in newsrooms is rarely done through HR — newsroom folks work their own contacts, handle the posting, receive the resumes and clips, and do all the evaluating of candidates themselves. HR gets mentioned after you get the job, as in, “Could you fill out this job application form to make HR happy?”
Thing is, unless the newsroom puts one of its own in a recruiting position in HR, HR can’t evaluate a journalist’s skills and abilities and how they’ll fit in the newsroom. The jobs are too specialized. No one with a general HR background could understand my journalism resume — it doesn’t mean anything to them when I say that I was a beat reporter who covered a county government, but everyone in the newsroom knows exactly how much work that entailed. And honestly, you can’t teach a recruiter how to evaluate a journalist’s work. Unless the recruiter has worked as a journalist, they just can’t.
As for this guy — newsroom reporters might not like his language or his sexism or his pilfering money, but they’ll appreciate his straightforwardness. I remember going to Sexual Harassment Training at my last newspaper, where we were told not to talk about sex, politics or religion in the workplace. Everyone went back to the newsroom and said, “Well, guess we can’t put out the newspaper anymore.”
He sounds mean. I don’t like meanies.
@ Lea. You make a bold assumption to know what it is like to work in HR. You say HR is unable to comprehend your job because they have never done it yet you are saying you know an HR job with out ever doing it. I am a little defensive because I work hard to know the positions I am filling and the people I put into those positions. It is what I believe makes me a successful HR/Staffing person.
I still believe that in the end, assholes always lose. Even really, really, rich assholes. And even rich assholes can’t run a company without employees. Who are suing him? Really? Oh hurray, there *is* a God!!!
My friends at a local newspaper in NY, just spun off from Tribune, say the same thing…scum and mean…and guess who their new owners are??? Cablevision (owners of the Knicks and Rangers)…and guess who just lost one of the highest profile lawsuites for sexual Harrassment (yes Cablevision- NY Knicks)…
talk about frying pan to the fire!!!
don’t work for a newspaper if your in HR…
@michael I’m a Chicagoan, but I don’t care about the naming rights of Wrigley Field. For all I care, it can be Tampax Stadium.
@Lance I think it’s amazing that people are still producing good work at the LA Times. The Top of the Ticket is still my favorite political blog. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/
@Lea you’ve inspired me to write a post.
@HRUnderling I don’t care about meanies but I don’t like bullies.
@Nick I’m on it.
@Almost Whether or not there’s a god, there will always be lawyers.
@mark LOL, I hate Isiah Thomas!!
I wrote for the Pop Music department for the L.A. Times 20 years ago, and was interviewed directly by Bob Hillburn, the head of Pop Music back then. Never saw an HR person during my time there. As a matter of fact, HR has had very little, if anything, to do with my editorial career – when I was senior editor at RIP magazine, I only saw HR once, on my first day at work after editor-in-chief Lonn Friend hired me, and then never saw them again. The latest magazine I edited for, Estylo, had such a small staff that there wasn’t even HR at all!
In any case, one of Zell’s layoffs was a guy I worked with in 1988 and 1989, staff writer and editor Richard Cromelin, an experienced, highly competent guy (I preferred it when he edited my pieces instead of Hillburn – Hillburn kept trying to edit Bruce Springsteen comparisons into my reviews of heavy metal bands). The fact that Zell layed off Cromelin indicates to me that 1) he knows nothing about newspapers and 2) he is an asshole.
@Janiss Crap, HR sounds like it either has the best job (no responsibilities) or the worst job (no meaningful responsibilities) in journalism. Hmmmm…. I also agree with your two observations about Zell.
I dunno, for although I do not work in HR, I still have this to comment: In all my jobs, I have never been hired or qualified by an HR person, but always by the man or woman I would be directly working for. Even back in the day, when HR referred to people as “personnel.” HR was always only ever a filing and clerical department, and never reviewed my requirements. So if you are only a clerk (which is what I am) what do you have to worry about in being an HR employee? Just do your job and be grateful you have one, or get another one if you don’t like your boss or your job. Or company. Or owner. Sheesh.