Take Back the Times: Mr. Zell: Owning A Paper Is Not All Making Money

By Ken Reich

Now that it appears its lobbying in Washington has paid off, and the FCC will clear the way for Sam Zell to assume ownership of the Tribune Co., and its largest newspaper property, the L.A. Times, I think it's important to raise again the issue of control by Zell over editorial policy.

So far, the Chicago real estate magnate and part time Malibu resident has steadfastly proclaimed that he will keep hands off the editorial pages. He makes it sound like his only interest is making money.

But, Mr. Zell, there is more to newspapering than that. Owning a newspaper is a public trust, and it is not only appropriate in my view, it is desirable, that you, as owner, try to influence your papers in constructive directions, as you understand what those directions to be. The way Abraham Lincoln once put it was "firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right."

This is particularly the case with you, the son of Jewish immigrants to the U.S. (your parents got out of Poland just weeks before Hitler took over) and a major contributor to educational institutions in Israel and other Israeli charities.

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Mr. Zell: Owning A Paper Is Not All Making Money