Zell: Tribune Was a Mistake
April 24, 2009
Mistakes are made everyday. However, they are usually on the level of locking your keys in the car, or accidentally putting on two different colored socks. I don’t think the word “mistake” justifies buying a multi-billion dollar business and leading it into bankruptcy within the first two years.
Nevertheless, Sam Zell (seemingly unaware of this new phenomenon known as computers) recently admitted that the rapid decline of the newspaper industry caught him by surprise and his acquisition of the Tribune Co. was a mistake. He is merely stating the obvious in my opinion. Kind of like saying it was a mistake for the captain of the Titanic to increase the ship’s speed when he was warned of icebergs in the water.
I’m not sure if that analogy even applies. Like Mr. Zell, I sometimes make mistakes too.
