The Los Angeles to Chicago "CASH PIPELINE" is flowing once again! I understand the pressure that our newspaper, as well as all newspapers in general are under, but what I don't understand is how Executive Management in Chicago continues to siphon off millions of dollars at the expense of Los Angeles Times employees and line their own pockets with it.It was reported that 38 executives are going to divide approximately 269 Million dollars upon the closing of the sale of Tribune to Sam Zell. Why are there so many executives to begin with? Why do they get such over inflated bonuses for orchestrating this sale in the course of their duties, to which they are already over compensated, and also receive profit from the sale? This is nothing more than a kickback and should not be so easily ignored when they are continually asking for more money from L.A.
I visited "CEO PAYWATCH" and was again astonished at just how much our CEO Dennis Fitzsimons pockets for doing a less than commendable job at running this corporation. I'm sure any one of us could do just as lousy of a job for alot less money than what he's raking in. This amount does not reflect all the money he's received. New reporting Laws now require detailed reporting of Executive compensation for all monies, stocks, and perks that total their earnings, so his actual amount is much higher and I can't wait to see what that total is. Click on the link and see for yourself and then ask youself, how many of us have to lose our careers to feed Chicago's hunger for cash? I'm sure that if you get rid of half of the executives that sit in offices doing nothing, you'd save alot more money and keep more of the people who actually do something to make money for this company. There's more dead weight at the top!
We all knew they were coming to empty the piggy bank again and I'm more than glad that we stood up to protect our jobs in the Pressroom. Everyone at The Times lives on the edge wondering just how long they will survive here because Chicago prefers to "CUT" and chase away the reasons the public buys our product. The Editorial/Newsroom Employees are the main target in this latest assault on L.A. and I still can't understand how Chicago doesn't realize that if you continue to chase away the people who write the paper, there eventually becomes nothing for customers to read, and in turn no reason to buy it. I hope Sam Zell takes the time to take a look at the company through the eye's of our readers because Chicago has ignored them completely, and see that less is certainly not more. Our Newspaper should focus on news, that's why people buy it, not the ads! We're a Newspaper, not an "Adpaper" Focus on the News and the reporters who cover it and advertising will be positively affected as a result.Are the Cubs looking to buy another player?
3 comments:
Very well said Ronnie.
Most of us agree with what your saying, some are afraid they may hurt managements feelings by stating their true emotions, so they pretend they do not care about all the money flowing into the bank accounts of the elite at Tribune Towers.
In the mean time the pressroom and mailroom are in terrible shape, with failure after failure. And we are told we must do a better job and cut expenses.
Or we will be demoted.
Management is paid for the Brilliant ideas they implement.
Who would of thought of shrinking the paper in size and pages.
Downsize service shops and maning on the press.
Getting rid of Writers and Reporters.
Stop real Investigative Reporting and sell soft news.
Then sell it as an improvement.
And we thought the opposite would be true.
That's why they get the Big Bucks.
Isn't it amazing that 6 days after publishing this post, Fitzsimons decides to forfeit his bonus, and several other top executives agree to accepting reduced bonuses.
I wonder if this post made them feel a little guilty about pocketing so much money while many more L.A. Times employees are being asked to leave.
$400,000.00 instead of $600,000.00 is not much of a sacrafice for an executive considering it would take any one of us at least 5-6 years to earn that much money.
If they want to impress us, divide that money between all of the production employees, and use some of it to fix our equiptment.
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