The source material

By Lou Grant | Feb 28, 8:45 PM

Now, here is the actual exchange Monday at the meeting Randy Michaels and Sam Zell had with Daily Press staffers. I've added an emphasis that the speaker used.

St: For about a solid week last summer the number one story on DailyPress.com was "man has sex with deer…"

SZ: Man what?

St: Man has sex with deer. I mean it was a horrible story…

SZ: Was it a male or a female deer… I don't understand

RM: Was it a cute deer?

SZ: And could the deer get married or not?

St: Not in Virginia

SZ: It was just an association?

St: Not in Virginia

SA: I like this girl… someone after my own heart.

RM: That reminds me of the difference between Virginia and West Virginia. In Virginia Moosehead is a beer; in West Virginia it's a misdemeanor.

Digby Solomon, Zell and Michaels join the crowd in laughing

St: … funny story, right? But I guess on journalism…

SZ: Wait one second… Start again.

St: We were talking about journalism. How do we find the balance between becoming a newspaper that's entirely stories like that because that's the number one story and that's what people are interested in? Do we WANT to become that newspaper?

SZ: We don't want to become the National Enquirer.

St: That's what people want to read though.

SZ: The answer is that some people read the National Enquirer. I've never read the National Enquirer. I've never read the Star. So, there are obviously some people who don't. It's all about balance, juggling it until you find the right formula between the two that produces the revenue. I don't want to be the owner of a newspaper that only writes about sex with deer… What's wrong with gorillas and bears… there's an affirmative action element to take into consideration… In the end that's not what I want to be. I would argue with you that if all you did is write articles about sex with deer then effectively you'd go out of business because the Enquirer would take over your business. So the answer is you shouldn't have no stories (about it) and if you do (them), you should explain how it happened.

RM: Is this a real story?

St: Yeah

RM: Well I've heard the key to dating is having the right doe. (Laughter) I didn't get the context, okay?

SZ: But it's balance, okay? And we're going to keep testing to find the right balance because in the end, it's 'what's the bottom line?'

RM: The bottom line is he dumped her when he found out about Bambi.

New Question: I'm a sales rep in retail. How do we put the proud back into selling the newspaper? We know the revenues (are) down and circulation is down and when we go out we hear "what kind of deal can you give me?" So we need to be proud in what we're selling and have an answer for that customer.

SZ: And that's called both pride and respect. And ultimately if the guy who is sitting here and is the publisher of the newspaper sets the right standard and has the power to implement that standard, then we can recover both pride and respect. That what I'm talking about. We're not a faceless media company. We're basically a local business that makes its decisions on the ground here. And that's our goal.

RM: There's no question we're down, so WHAT? Did you know that American Idol, if it was on in 1980, would be cancelled? Who remains the largest by far? Without comparison, by far, THIS ONE. We're the big dog. Don't compare yourself to 1980. Compare yourselves to everyone else. We're the big deal and I'm proud of it.

Tagged: Randy Michaels, Tribune Company