By: Alicia Mundy Says Of Willes and Downing: They Still Don't Get It
(Mediaweek) Otis Chandler, retired
as both chairman of the now-defunct Times Mirror Co. and publisher of the Los
Angeles Times, surprised guests at a National Press Foundation dinner in
Washington last Thursday with an extemporaneous oratorical attack on former
Times Mirror CEO Mark H. Willes and former L.A. Times Publisher Kathryn
Downing.
The annual event's highlights are usually lengthy speeches honoring industry
veterans. But Chandler, accepting the Chairman's Award, woke up the crowd by
reviewing what took place at the L.A. Times after it came under the
control of Willes and Downing. Under their management, Chandler said, the
L.A. Times quickly went "downhill ... [and] declined down a steep, steep
slope." Chandler said the paper became "second-rate."
Focusing on the L.A. Times' controversial deal promoting the Staples
Center in downtown L.A., Chandler said that, even after Willes and Downing left
Times Mirror, they "didn't understand what they did wrong ... didn't understand
why they got fired, and still don't understand it ... yet one of them is now
teaching journalism in Oregon!"
The L.A. Times is now owned by the Chicago-based Tribune Co., which
acquired Times Mirror last year.
Chandler's vehemence caused noticeable squirming and raised eyebrows among the
guests. At one point, talking about the sacred barrier between advertising and
editorial operations, Chandler stared at former Gannett Co. Inc. Chairman Allen
Neuharth, who maintained a stoical look with his hands carefully covering part
of his face.
Alicia Mundy ( Mundy007@aol.com) is Washington bureau chief for Mediaweek and "The Pack Rat" columnist for E&P.
Copyright 2001, Editor & Publisher.
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