Tribune VP of Editorial Speaks Out

In a move I find rather refreshing Tribune’s Publishing vice president/editorial Gerould W. Kern sets the record straight regarding an article in the Columbia Journal Review titled “Time to Go, Why Tribune is like Rumsfeld”.


Mr. Michael Hoyt
Executive Editor
Columbia Journalism Review
Journalism Building
2950 Broadway
Columbia University
New York, NY 10027

Dear Mr. Hoyt:

We at Tribune strongly disagree with the conclusions reached in the Columbia Journalism Review's recent editorial, "Time to Go, Why Tribune is like Rumsfeld." Your editorial is misinformed, misguided and a disservice to your readers, our company and our communities.

Most egregious is the assertion that "Tribune has great resources, but those resources aren't doing much public good." Nothing could be further from the truth.

Journalism is Tribune's foundation
Public service through great journalism is at the heart of Tribune'smission, as it has been since the first copies of the Chicago Tribune wereprinted on a hand press in 1847. Our investment in journalism is huge and the evidence is clear for all to see.

In each of our markets, Tribune puts more journalists on the streets toreport on public affairs than anyone else by a wide margin. We spend $400 million annually on our newspaper newsrooms and employ 3,700 journalists, both figures ranking near the top of the industry.

This extraordinary investment delivers public service in the form ofgroundbreaking investigative journalism, comprehensive local news coverage, distinguished world and national reporting and a vast range of other information that is illuminating and useful in the daily lives of ourreaders in print and online. In response, 8 million readers each weekday and nearly 12 million on Sunday turn to Tribune newspapers because they find great value and meaning in them.

The remainder of this message can be read at Romenesko