paidContent.org - Former Tribune Exec: 'Sam Zell Is An Idiot In Terms Of Journalism''

No, it's not the title of Al Franken's newest book. It's the assessment by John Carroll, former editor of the Baltimore Sun and the Los Angeles Times?two papers being burnt down by Tribune Co. to save them. Carroll told The (Maryland) Daily Record: "Zell may be a genius in other lines of work, but he is an idiot in terms of journalism." Former Sun publisher Michael Waller echoed those views: "Tribune management confuses innovation with idiocy. I could wear my underwear over my trousers and Tribune would think that's innovation. Everybody else would think I was wacko."

But the story isn't all about Zell. Carroll, Waller and others aren't under any illusions about the need for massive change at daily newspapers. The Sun had more than 400 journalists in Carroll's day;it's down to roughly 150 now. How much you can cut before you hit bone is another issue?as is how to make sure it's the right 150. Waller's concern: "If you cut your wrists long enough and deep enough, you will eventually commit suicide."

Former Sun deputy managing editor editor Martin Kaiser today is president of the American Society of News Editors and editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. You won't be surprised to hear he's worried about the combo effect of the bad economy and the high debt so many companies face: "When you put the economy on top of everything else, it's scary losing so much [advertising]. What kind of ads are going to come back when the economy finally comes back?"

That's the $2.6 billion question?the amount of advertising sales that disappeared from U.S. newspapers in the first quarter. It's also the $30 billion question?as in will 2009 be the first year since 1987 that newspapers don't sell at least $30 billion in advertising? That's what Alan Mutter is predicting.

Even if advertising comes back in good measure, that could be a number we never see again. And, as Mutter explains: "By contrast, newspapers sold an all-time high of $49.4 billion in advertising as recently as 2005. If the industry achieved only $30 billion in sales this year, its volume would be 40 percent lower than it was four years ago."

And that volume isn't coming back.

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