by James O'Shea
background of
Chandler stock sale and
Chicago Tribune bid of
as Chicago Tribune investor
cost cuts required by
cutbacks of
ESOP use by
FCC approval and
FitzSimons’ relationship with
Hiller’s relationship with
investment banker interest in
Lipinski’s meeting with
Orlando Sentinel visit of
plans of
profane language of
solvency opinion and
staff decisions of
“Talk to Sam” initiatives
as Tribune Company chairman
Tribune Company consideration by
Tribune Company revenues and
Zimbalist, Efrem (Skip)
Zocalo cultural forum (Los Angeles)
Zoned local sections
Zoning strategy for local news
Zuckerman, Mort
Zyman, Sergio
Award-winning journalist James O’Shea is former managing editor of the Chicago Tribune and past editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Times, the nation’s largest metropolitan daily. He is the founder and editor of the Chicago Newspaper Cooperative.
O’Shea has twice won both the Sigma Delta Chi Distinguished Service Award for Washington Correspondence and the Peter Lisagor Award from the organization’s Chicago chapter. His honors also include the Associated Press Managing Editors’ Public Service Award and the National Education Writers Award. Under his leadership, the Tribune’s news staff received six Pulitzer Prizes. (Photo: José Moré)
PUBLICAFFAIRs is a publishing house founded in 1997. It is a tribute to the standards, values, and flair of three persons who have served as mentors to countless reporters, writers, editors, and book people of all kinds, including me.
I. F. STONE, proprietor of I. F. Stone’s Weekly, combined a commitment to the First Amendment with entrepreneurial zeal and reporting skill and became one of the great independent journalists in American history. At the age of eighty, Izzy published The Trial of Socrates, which was a national bestseller. He wrote the book after he taught himself ancient Greek.
BENJAMIN C. BRADLEE was for nearly thirty years the charismatic editorial leader of The Washington Post. It was Ben who gave the Post the range and courage to pursue such historic issues as Watergate. He supported his reporters with a tenacity that made them fearless, and it is no accident that so many became authors of influential, best-selling books.
ROBERT L. BERNSTEIN, the chief executive of Random House for more than a quarter century, guided one of the nation’s premier publishing houses. Bob was personally responsible for many books of political dissent and argument that challenged tyranny around the globe. He is also the founder and was the longtime chair of Human Rights Watch, one of the most respected human rights organizations in the world.
For fifty years, the banner of Public Affairs Press was carried by its owner Morris B. Schnapper, who published Gandhi, Nasser, Toynbee, Truman, and about 1,500 other authors. In 1983 Schnapper was described by The Washington Post as “a redoubtable gadfly.” His legacy will endure in the books to come.
Peter Osnos, Founder and Editor-at-Large
Copyright © 2011 by James O’Shea.
Published in the United States by PublicAffairs™,
a Member of the Perseus Books Group
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address PublicAffairs, 250 West 57th Street, Suite 1321, New York, NY 10107.
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Book design and production by Eclipse Publishing Services
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
O’Shea, James ( James E.)
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
eISBN : 978-1-586-48865-9
1. O’Shea, James ( James E.) 2. Journalists—United States—Biography. 3. Newspaper editors—United States—Biography. 4. Los Angeles times—History—21st century. 5. Newspaper publishing—California—Los Angeles—History—21st century. 6. American newspapers—Ownership. 7. Press monopolies—United States. I. Title.
PN4874.O785A3 2011
071’.3090511—dc22
2011009204