Copy Editing as 'Manufacturing'

Charles Apple has a pretty comprehensive report on the cutbacks affecting copy desks, specifically at Tribune. When Trib started its "shared content" stuff a couple of years ago, you could see what was coming while hoping someone with common sense and a belief in quality would prevail. Nope.

Tribuneland

UPDATE: From the papers outlining the indictment of Gov. Blagojevich:
....threatening to withhold substantial state assistance to the Tribune Company in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field to induce the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members sharply critical of Blagojevich....

Does this mean that Sam Zell could--right or wrong--blame Blagojevich for the bankruptcy filing? Is this what held up the sale of the Cubs? I always thought he was getting pressure from local businessmen not to sell their beloved Cubs but maybe there was actual interference?

Hang in there, Tribunistas. And Miami Herald-ians. One of the surprising things I've noticed in recent months of discussion about newspapers is how many average folks are convinced newspapers are losing money, rather than recognizing that media companies are in trouble because of BAD BUSINESS DECISIONS that keep compounding. Sorry to shout; I know it's early.

Josh Marshall's been paying attention over at Talking Points Memo. A couple of people, including an unidentified Tribune employee, have been making this point today.

One of the innovations of the Tribune leadership has been to replace columnist mugshots with full-body shots. So I thought I'd show you a couple of these guys, starting with Randy Michaels, from his radio days.

Here are some links if you want to read more; note that I'm using the news sources' headlines:

The Worst CEO

How Sam Zell and Tribune Management Screwed Employees

Zell on Tribune, in His Own Words

Observing the LAT from Abroad


Older:
Another Lee Abrams Bobble
Randy Michaels
Lee Abrams


I'll have more later today.

RIP, Joseph Coates Jr.

Tribune copy editor, book critic Joseph Coates Jr. dies at age 75
By Mary Owen
Chicago Tribune reporter
As a copy editor at the Chicago Tribune, Joseph Coates Jr. wrote clever headlines and enforced the rules of grammar with dispatch, giving him time to indulge in his true passion, reading.