UPDATED: 'Chicago Tribune' Delayed Governor Wiretap Stories at Fed's Request

By: mfitzgerald@editorandpublisher.com U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who ordered the arrest of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich Tuesday morning, said at his office's request the Chicago Tribune agreed to delay publication of a story that the FBI was taping the governor.

According to Fitzgerald, Tribune approached federal authorities to comment on the story. "I knew if that story was published, those bugs could not be planted," he said. He asked the paper to delay publication, saying the delay would be in the "public interest."

"This was an extraordinary request for us to make, and the Tribune was very gracious," Fitzgerald added.

Fitzgerald noted that when the Tribune last week published the story that the governor was being taped by federal authorities, Blagojevich was intercepted telling an aide to "undo" a plan to solicit a bribe in connection with filling the Senate vacancy.

Fitzgerald also said at the press conference in Chicago that he "lay awake at night" worrying that a Chicago Tribune editorial board member would be fired before the governor was taken into custody.

Tribune Editor Gerould W. Kern was quoted in a new Tribune statement: ?No one within Tribune Company has ever complained to me about the positions taken by our editorial board, or attempted to influence our coverage of the governor in any way. It should be clear to anyone reading our recent coverage of the governor and his administration that it is fair, balanced and factual.?

The release stated: "The staffing decisions of the Chicago Tribune are completely unrelated to the editorial positions expressed within its pages. In fact, the current leadership of the Chicago Tribune editorial board has been in place since 2000. The most recent change to the
composition of the board occurred in November 2007, when a board member voluntarily left the company for other employment and was not replaced."

Fitzgerald was asked if the arrest of Blagojevich was timed because his appointment of a person to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama, the president-elect. Blagojevich is accused of soliciting bribes in connection with filling the seat.

He said that was one factor, but he was also concerned about a horse racing bill on Blagojevich's desk that the governor was allegedly using to solicit a bribe -- and by the fate of the Tribune's deputy editorial page editor, John McCormick, and other members of the editorial board.

Blagojevich is accused of threatening to withhold state funding that would help smooth Tribune Co.'s sale of Wrigley Field unless the Chicago Tribune fired McCormick and other editorial board members.

Blagojevich and his chief of staff suggested the firings could be timed to be part of large layoffs at the paper. "I lie awake at night wondering if I would read after the layoffs that this individual was part of the layoff," Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald was asked if the Tribune episode, and his own worry about layoffs, suggested that someone at Tribune was considering, or at least being forced to consider, firing the editorial board members. Fitzgerald said he could not comment on anything that occurred outside the taped conversation between Blagojevich and his chief aide. He also cautioned reporters not to try to draw their own conclusions about what, if anything, happened inside Tribune.

McCormick was not laid off. He did not immediately return an E&P message seeking comment.

Gerould Kern's earlier statement on holding off on stories follows.
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The Chicago Tribune investigated allegations of misconduct involving Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich independent of the U.S. attorney's criminal probe.

As a standard practice, our reporters contact individuals involved in these stories for confirmation and comment prior to publication. Consequently, we contacted the U.S. attorney's office in the course of our reporting.

On occasion, prosecutors asked us to delay publication of stories, asserting that disclosure would jeopardize the criminal investigation. In isolated instances, we granted the requests, but other requests were refused.

The Chicago Tribune's interest in reporting the news flows from its larger obligation of citizenship in a democracy. In each case, we strive to make the right decision as reporters and as citizens. That's what we did in this case.