CHICAGO — Tribune Co.’s fast-fading reputation as a buttoned-down conglomerate took a pie in the face on April Fools’ Day, courtesy of new boss Sam Zell.
A year after striking the deal that gave Zell control of the newspaper and TV-station company, Tribune issued a spoof release Tuesday announcing it had changed its name to ZellCoMediaEnterprises Inc., or ZCMEINC.
But the suddenly merry pranksters at Tribune Tower didn’t keep a straight face for long.
“Zell, who made a fortune in real estate before deciding he’d like to dabble in an industry completely unfamiliar to him, announced the change in his record-setting 437th e-mail to exhausted employees this year,” the Tuesday statement read.
“I put $315 million into this thing, and we’re on the hook for $13 billion — the least I ought to get is my name on the company’s stationery,” Zell was quoted as saying.
Tribune didn’t stop with a phony name change. Poking fun at Zell’s proposal to sell naming rights to historic Wrigley Field, it announced a $600 million deal to rename its Tribune Tower headquarters — the new “name” was not immediately announced — and installed debt-o-meters on the company website.
The Associated Press
