Toops Scoops: A Cautionary Tale

Warning: This post doesn't specifically have anything to do with insurance, except in the larger scope of what it means to succeed or fail in today's business world. But yesterday's bombshell story in the New York Times about how businessman Sam Zell drove the once venerable Chicago Tribune into bankruptcy in less than a year is must reading for anyone involved in any sort of business venture.

You don't have to be an ink-stained wretch or even a Chicagoan to cringe at some of the salient (and salacious) points in this story. In fact, it's a risk manager's nightmare, including allegations of sexual harassment, trading sex for advancement and the creation of a hostile work environment more akin to a frat house than a media business. No surprise that Zell brought in upper management from Clear Channel radio, most of whom transplanted their shock jock tactics to the newsroom.

In spite of, or maybe because of, their endless pandering to the lowest common denominator to attract readers and therefore advertisers, bankruptcy came fast and hard: ” listing $7.6 billion in assets against a debt of $13 billion, making it the largest bankruptcy in the history of the American media industry.”

True to form to the new American business model, the same managers responsible for the Trib's demise claimed more than $50 million in bonuses this year, a move that creditors are reluctant to stop because they fear “antagonizing” management will delay the Trib's emergence from bankruptcy.

Who cares, right? The newspaper industry is twitching in its final death throes before succumbing to all the bloggers, tweeters and other free agents of social media. Heck, why pay for content when you can get it for free — right? That's certainly still the thinking in Trib Tower, where management cut its editorial staff to the bone and plans to replace its traditional news broadcasts with a stream of clips — maybe like YouTube, but without the cats (or maybe with the cats, as long as it brings in viewers).

The cautionary tale in all this doesn't just relate to newspapers. It involves what happens when any business tries to solve its problems by throwing a lot of money at the ”flavor of the month” and expecting immediate results. It also involves the importance of treating both your employees and your audience with respect. Finally, it's a warning to everyone to know your strengths and stick to them. Even when an industry is struggling through uncertain times — when everything is in flux and that crowded, gaudy bandwagon seems like the smartest thing to go with — it makes more sense to conduct an in-depth evaluation of what your business has been built on and what still works.

Unfortunately, in their haste to reinvent the Tribune, to make their business model “non-linear” and respond to new demographics, the Tribune's management threw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater. Their desperation to distance themselves from the “old” Tribune has ironically rendered them even more obsolete.

Don't make the same mistake with your business.