Another Lie on the way out the door!

More Given to Ex-Tribune Chief

From Chicago Tribune, January 4, 2008
By Michael Oneal

Former Tribune Co. boss Dennis FitzSimons will receive a previously unreported payout of around $3 million, triggered when he stepped down Dec. 20 as the media conglomerate’s chairman, president and chief executive, according to public filings and sources close to the situation.

The new payout brings to approximately $17.7 million the severance and other payments FitzSimons has received as a result of Tribune’s recently completed $8.2 billion deal to become a private company owned by an employee stock ownership plan and controlled by billionaire Sam Zell.

Tribune had reported earlier that it would pay FitzSimons $10.7 million in severance and almost $4 million more to offset the taxes generated by that severance payment.

The new payment is FitzSimons’ share of a $25 million pool of money negotiated by Zell and Tribune to provide incentives for Tribune executives to complete the going-private transaction and stay on through the first “transition year,” sources said.

Click here for the whole story. on freepress.net

( Dennis said that he was going to forfeit this money back when it was announced that he along with 38 executives were going to divide approximately 269 million dollars and profit from the sale to Sam Zell.) I guess Fitzsimons changed his mind........3 million times!

Back in April '07, I posted "Where does all the money go" Six days later Fitzsimons went on record saying he would not accept this money when the sale was completed. Follow this link, or click on the cash below to my archived story on his decision and reversal of fortune. I'm sure he thinks we forgot. Maybe he'll keep his word and give it back so we can fund our contract proposals and make some necessary repairs to our equiptment.

Where does all the money go?

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?