Another Soucheray Attack

Yesterday Joe Soucheray wrote another attack on me. He called me and some management people "bottled water" people. "The Mayor of Garage Town" or whatever he's called also says I should stay in Minneapolis because my management team and I didn't bring anything to the Pioneer Press. That's what I'd expect from a columnist who should star on one of those network sitcoms about "regular guys".

What a jerk. Maybe if Soucheray worked out a little more and drank a little more water, he wouldn't be a dead wood columnist that only tells personal stories or re-hashes old news for his column and his radio show. And maybe if Soucheray and his "newspaper guys" did a better job listening to me and the management, their industry wouldn't be in such trouble.

Back Fire

Lambert's attack column today back fired on him.

Look at what he says I did at the Pioneer Press: "reorganized", "right-sized", and cut overhead costs on the "labor line". Exactly. Those words might sound too professional to Lambert, but it's the job of a publisher to captain the company's ship. Being a captain means making sure the ship sails as well as it can. Being a captain means sometimes you have to cut some crew. Those thing are not easy to do, but that's why it's important to have a good captain.

It's also not easy to have your ship change owners. If your paper gets new ownership, it takes more effort to direct your crew. It should be obvious that's why I received the extra $600,000 payment. It's for, as my contract says, the sale of the company and the "adverse effects" of the new management. It's for the extra effort of running the changed ship.

The status quo wasn't going to work for McClatchy. My management team and I had to tighten our belts and the ship's sails. That's why we pursued disciplinary action against reporters who had ethics violations and discipline issues like attending a Bruce Springsteen concert. Having reporters argue with management might seem like a good idea to Lambert, but insubordination to cutting costs and crew is not productive for a paper.

Ganging Up on Me

Brian Lambert had to bring in re-enforcements for his daily attack on me yesterday. Ron Rosenbaum from KSPT called my testimony lies and called me stupid. Thanks guys. I'm testifying in a trial right now and it doesn't help to have journalist hacks call me names.

Both Lambert and Rosenbaum wanted to know why Avista hasn't fired me yet. I'll tell you why. It's because the organization needs a good publisher. And I'm that publisher. That's why I was brought over from the Pioneer Press. And that's why I brought over the last few years of data from that newspaper to my new job. Was it illegal? Of course not! It was being prepared for my new job!

And if Lambert or Rosenbaum or whoever think I got my new job as publisher just because my parents are close to Avista, you're wrong.

Dinner Table Debate

Last night my wife and I were arguing about work. She started calling Kate Parry names, and I told her to cut it out. Kate's no genius, but she's also not a "retard". Then my wife brought up the fact that I've called Singleton a retard on more than a few occasions. It's like I was still at the trial.

I said, look, honey, Kate and Singleton couldn't be any more apples and oranges. Apples and oranges. Singleton's more than a retard, he's like a grade-A douchebag. Everyone knows it. No one at the Pioneer Press even knows the guy because he's not around. And like my wife knows.

Jerks on the Internet

Some people on internet website called MNSpeak made some pictures of me in an orange jumpsuit. First hacks like Lambert harp on me, now I've got internet geeks messing with my picture.

I talked to one of our family lawyers about sending the website operator a cease and desist letter, but he didn't think it would work. I thought it would because the picture isn't accurate. Hey internet geeks, the trial isn't for me to go to jail! It to prevent me from working at the Star Tribune, you jackasses.

My lawyer also suggested that I contact the Bartels. They run the site and my lawyer told me that the dad bought the site and gave it to his son to operate. So maybe they'll hear me out. But probably not. That's fine, if you're going to be at the top, you've got to deal with the spotlight. And people get jealous. I bet Kevin Garnett knows what I'm talking about.

Fogo de Chao

There is a new restaurant in downtown Minneapolis that has great food, if you like meat. It's called Fogo de Chao and it's a Brazilian steak house. Yeah, you have to go downtown, but it's worth it. The waiters walk around with different kinds of grilled meats and you get to choose which kinds of meat you'd like to eat. It's like dim sum, if you know what that is. Fogo de Chao also has waitresses who are kind of hot, but not Brazilian models, that's for sure.

My New Digs

Paul Schmelzer starts in on the house I bought. How many of these internet bloggers are there? They should get jobs at real newspapers and cover real news, instead of waging class war on me.

I'm the publisher of the Star Tribune. If I don't look successful, how will the company look? You can't buy a house that conveys success over night. I was looking at that house before the new management of the Star Tribune had to trim a bunch of employees for the good of the company. Buying Paul Magers's house shows success and so does a solid bottom line at the paper.

I doubt Paul Magers from KARE11 caught as much criticism when he owned the home. It was Magers that added the golf simulator, not me. Did anyone complain then? Schmelzer also mentions the taxes on the property. That's not the only hard part about owning that house. I'd tell you how much it costs to run the air conditioning, but it would be something else for Lambert to complain about.

Earning My Salary

It's not easy being the manager of a major Minnesota paper. There's a lot of scrutiny. Reporters like to think they know everything about running a big business. They also like to report on me instead of reporting on the news.

Here's a blog report from the City Pages. It really an attack on me by reporter Mike Mosedale. He tells everyone how much I make, which is fine. I want people to know how much I make. But I also want people to know how hard it is to earn that much.

Working my way up from an account manager at the Washington Post to publisher in California to the publisher position at the Pioneer Press and then to the publisher position at the Star Tribune has not been easy. I didn't get the positions just because my dad is CEO and chairman of Knight Ridder, the company that owned and sold the Pioneer Press. It's because I've got experience, I'm from a publishing family, and I know how to publish a newspaper.

Making sure a major paper works as a business takes a lot of time and talent. And that's why I make as much as I do. Also, getting my start in newspaper advertising, I know about bringing in money to a newspaper. You've got to spend money to make money. And you've got to spend money on a good publisher to have a great paper.

That's what I'm building at the Star Tribune, a great paper.