Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Question authority – at your own risk

So now you know. At the New Tribune, you can indeed get in trouble if you question authority or "push back if you don't like the answer" because you could be fired. No doubt Mr. O'Shea thought he was adhering to the new employee handbook's Rule #1– "Use your best judgement" – when he pushed back in defense of his newsroom's priorities.

The handbook distributed last week that's loaded with seemingly witty and wise common sense looks this week more like what E&P's Mark Fitzgerald describes as "the same old corporate hypocrisy of a corporation that preaches values -- but really values a by-the-book, finances-first, mission-second approach to business. "

... perhaps Tribune should take some of the punch lines from its new handbook, and put them on those schmaltzy "motivational" posters with eagles and sunrises over mountains and rock climbers. You know, the kind of poster prominently displayed in places that, in reality, are white-collar sweatshops.
Yeah, put those up next to the penguin posters.

Perhaps it's time to use your best judgement.

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