Sam Zell Is Looking For Success In All The Wrong Places

Sam Zell, that feisty billionaire who bought Tribune Co., and the Los Angeles Times which came along with it, is maintaining unusual visibility among his employees via email, at least among the employees who still work there.

From the day he bought Tribune, he rallied the troops by telling them that they are the future of the company, and the company's success will be their success. He then challenged and encouraged each and every employee to email him comments, complaints and ideas. His latest employee feel-good project is to set up an employee suggestion box. He recently touted the wonderful suggestions that have come from employees, many of which, he says, have been implemented.

If I worked there, the only suggestion I'd have is, "I suggest you don't fire me."

It appears the biggest project at the company, and certainly at the LA Times, is to get as many employees as possible, especially in the editorial department, out. Zell is offering a buy-out deal which is a nice corporate way of saying, "I'll pay you a bit more if you leave quietly, and leave now."

How can someone as successful as Sam Zell be so clueless?

I am an outsider and not privy to the long-range strategic planning of his empire. But doesn't he know that the problem is not with his product -- newspapers, TV and radio stations -- but rather that the market has and is changing? People are different today. People today don't want to read newspapers; they want their news electronically and they want it on video and they want it in 8 seconds or less.

This is tragic and doesn't speak well for our future, but reality is reality. Yes the LA Times and all major print media have websites and they are struggling to find a way to capture the young electronic news consumer. But hitting reporters and editors over the head isn't going to make more people read newspapers or watch the evening news. Reporters and editors report and edit. That's what they do. If they were corporate tycoons, reporters would be writing about them.

Zell, you should have the brilliant ideas. You were smart enough to buy Tribune with the employees' money. So now you want them to figure out how to make it profitable for you? That's your job. Let them do their's.

Stop with the emails and start figuring out your own business.