Some Questions for Tribune (and Sam Zell)

The federal criminal complaint against Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich raises some questions about the conduct of the Chicago tribune and the Tribune Co. In two conversations, Gov Blagojevich makes it clear that he was upset with The Trib's John McCormick, a deputy editorial page editor, and wanted to see him fired. On November 5, gubernatorial chief of staff John Harris made the governor's case to someone the complaint identifies only as "Tribune Financial Advisor." Harris says the advisor told him it was a delicate request, but agreed to sound out "Tribune Owner" -- Sam Zell. Harris also says the advisor asked to meet Harris in person to discuss the request. Did the financial advisor make the deal that Harris implied he did? Did Zell "get the message" from the advisor, as Harris says he was told he did, and, if so, what did he do about it? Did Zell or anyone else at Tribune corporate contact law enforcement about the governor's offer? Did they contact anyone at the Tribune's newsroom? Fitzgerald says the Tribune had been prepared to run a story on the wiretaps eight weeks before the investigation went public, but agreed to hold the story. Was Zell involved in or did he know about the Tribune's decision not to publish? Did the Tribune know the investigation was coming into its backyard, and if so, was that information passed on to executives at the Tribune Company before Fitzgerald made it public? If so, when? And who's that Tribune Financial Advisor, and what does he have to say? With so many questions striking at Sam Zell and Tribune's ethical conduct, we need a full accounting to assure readers and other Tribune stakeholders that he remains fit to lead a respectable newsgathering organization, one that is unwilling to compromise the most basic principles of journalistic independence, even in the face of dire financial circumstances.