In-boxing match

Correspondence with readers re. the Tribune strike, pizza controversies and more

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Eric Zorn is a former opinion columnist for the Chicago Tribune. Find a longer bio and contact information here. This issue exceeds in size the maximum length for a standard email. To read the entire issue in your browser, click on the headline link above. Paid subscribers receive each Picayune Plus in their email inbox each Tuesday, are part of our civil and productive commenting community and enjoy the sublime satisfaction of supporting this enterprise.

Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m. I talk with WGN-AM 720 host John Williams about what’s making news and likely to be grist for the PS mill. The WGN listen-live link is here.

Notes and comments from readers — lightly edited — along with my responses

The one-day strike by Tribune Publishing Co. newsroom employees

Edward M. Cook— You and several other Tribune columnists posted a statement of support last week for the newsroom union members who went on strike for one day last week. That was like ex-Sbarro employees calling for a one-day boycott of the mall. The die has been cast. It's over.

Orlando Lopez --The newsroom union’s fight is only delaying the inevitable. Printed news is “old news” the moment it hits the presses. Alden Global Capital owns more than 200 newspapers, including the Tribune. Their goal is not to inform but to buy newspapers for as little money as possible, squeeze every penny out of them they can, then cash out and move on in search of another deal.

Dave Gavin --The Trib is a mere shadow of its former self, staff layoffs and cost cutting measures have shorn the paper of its content and quality and is hardly worth the $4 daily cost. By comparison the Sun-Times is a better value at $2 daily and has better content.

Laurence E Siegel — I don't know the purpose of the strike. Yes, I know they want to inform everyone that they are being treated like crap by Alden. I don't disagree. But what's the purpose? It's all about the bottom line and what investors can reap. If workers go on strike the paper won't come out. If readers don't read it, advertisers will become disinterested. When the paper is no longer an investment for profits, Alden will simply close it. They don't care about losing a news outlet. They might try and sell it, but in today's world of shrinking profits and advertising in the news business, who, with enough capital to fix things, would buy it? So I ask again, what is the purpose of a strike?

Marc Martinez — The newspaper business, or an innovative new form of newspaper business, that would support a journalism profession is in a death spiral because there is no customer base that is willing to pay a price that will sustain it. In the old days, advertising paid the freight, and subscription prices were low. Now ad revenue is low and declining, and customers are unwilling to pay higher prices.

Also, despite the many examples of excellent and high value journalism, the vast majority of daily journalism is of low value, low quality, and frequently slanted towards the views of sources (that generally have specific motives for narratives). Not to mention the exploitation of reader emotions and promotion of emotional protagonists in the vast majority of stories.

Add to this the large and increasing size of the population that is satisfied with social media, comedians, feeds, podcasts, and search engines. Sadly, very few people pay any attention to local news, just as they do not participate in local elections.

The mean old Alden Capital people are a symptom, not a cause. The opportunity to create a Tribune that functioned more like the New York Times was missed decades ago. As I have said before, there were no other offers for the Tribune when it was sold to Alden. The Trib would probably be entirely defunct if they had not been acquired. The Trib will ultimately go the way of Sears and Montgomery Ward, both of which could have been Amazon.

If there is an actual consumer demand for good journalism, then something new will emerge. Maybe a new subscription plus advertising model that would support expanded newsrooms for local TV/radio broadcasters in a collaborative competition that included strong online presence.

Zorn — I’ll have more to say about this topic in the Thursday Picayune Sentinel, but a few responses: The die probably has been cast for daily ink-on-paper publications, yet there remains an appetite for and interest in solid, local, objective reporting and smart analysis of news and culture, both of which the Tribune still provides, though — obviously and admittedly — not in as comprehensive a way as it used to.

The staff is far smaller than it once was, as is the space in the printed product. Those who remain are doing vital work, but it’s an existential challenge to find the revenue to pay for that work. Storied brands — the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal — are making big cuts, and it’s disappointing to see the venomous glee on social media that greets such news. Without a strong, independent news media, corrupt autocrats will thrive. It baffles me that so many political conservatives imagine this is a good thing and blame it on an excessive concern in newsrooms for marginalized and dispossessed people.

The Sun-Times is a good paper, for sure, but it’s a “better value” in part because its bottom line is boosted by philanthropic and charitable contributions, including the work of the WBEZ-FM newsroom.

The purpose of the strike? It felt like a last-ditch effort to move contract negotiations forward, though I’ve seen no indication that Alden Global Capital frets about its reputation or has any particular interest in journalism aside from its income potential. The alternative is to do nothing and toil away as the paper dwindles.

Here’s a bit from “Newspapers are in rough shape. Let us tell you why we stay” by columnist Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel, another Tribune Publishing Co. paper where the employees walked off the job Thursday:

I’m not sure what might change. In recent years, the company has shown as much indifference to its employees as it has loyal subscribers, jacking up prices, providing unreliable delivery and maddening customer service without direct access to people in this community.

Nobody dislikes all this more than the people who work here. … It can be a curse to love a profession that doesn’t love you back. …

I could fill an entire separate column with the reasons that formerly print-centric institutions are struggling today. Because more people like to get their news free or via tweet-sized bites. Because Wall Street owners siphon off local profits to other ventures. Because some people prefer to get their “news” from places that will merely nurture their existing opinions.

There are certainly trust issues in modern journalism. But that’s not what’s driving this. Sports Illustrated isn’t struggling because it’s too “woke,” anymore than Playboy did before it folded completely. The internet has changed the way people consume news and everything else.

Our online subscriptions are steadily climbing. But most papers are still fighting economic headwinds and owners that are often more interested in profits than journalism.

When newspapers shed journalists, some political operatives cheer. Last week, that included some of those who work for Ron DeSantis who tweeted about “Celebrating the firing of 115 Los Angeles Times employees.”

That’s certainly their right. But let me tell you who also cheers whenever local journalist positions are cut? Bad guys. Corrupt politicians. Greasy lobbyists. Predators.

Evil thrives when there’s no spotlight shining.

‘Alders’ it is! Or is it?

Skeptic — Regarding the click-poll last week on what we should call members of the Chicago City Council, I agree that "alderman" as a generic term insinuates that a person holding such office ought to be male. For those who think public office should be open to any gender identity, then changing the term is helpful. But I do not presume there is any sexist intent by those who have long used the term.

Michael Gorman — "Alder,” the runaway winner in your poll over “aldermen,” “alderpeople.” and “aldermen and women,” is from an Old English word meaning a "patriarch" with its root in the word "old." But why not “councilor,” which means “member of a council”?

Don "Crash" Battaglia — “Councilor” will often be misspelled. How about "council member"? Same number of syllables as alderperson without making you dry heave saying it. "Alder" in any form is archaic and should be retired.

Rick Weiland — I would have voted for “councilor” if given the option. It’s gender neutral, a real word, and appropriately descriptive By your “alder” logic, we would be calling restaurant servers “waits,” and those who battle blazes “fires.”

Zorn — OK, then I’ll consider “alders” the semi-final victor and put this new suggestion to a one-on-one vote:

Jiggery Pokery the visual tweets poll!

Steve H. — That was a swell batch of visual jokes last week. The winner — the snow shovel/pole dancer mom — was my favorite, but when I Googled to see if I could find a reusable source I found a Snopes article from 2010 noting that it was not real and was the work not of a young child but a 17-year-old.

Zorn — I can’t say I’m terribly surprised. Here is the winning image again:

The myth-buster at Snopes noted:

• (The drawing) was too well rendered to really look like the work of a small child. Notice how beautifully the Mommy figure is framed by the prospective shovel buyers and how easily identifiable as money the items held in their hands is. That level of composition and detail wouldn't be found in the drawing of a child who still renders people as unclothed stick figures.

• (The drawing) was subtly geared to further the impression of Mom as an exotic dancer. Not only does the shovel better resemble a stripper's pole than a snow-clearing implement, but all those waving money are male. (Women, we're reliably told, also purchase shovels.) Plus, while the male figures are drawn with straight lines, take note of the arched back on Mommy.

It’s less funny when you know it’s fake, unlike “Becky’s Hateful Screed,” below with this weeks visual tweets finalists, which is obviously, transparently fake.

The joy of six

Skeptic — Last week you published this image via local radio and TV star Jon Hansen and asked readers in a poll which piece they’d take first.

Objectively, the only reasonable piece to take from that pizza is #1. Jon picked 6, presumably to be gracious and take the smallest piece. However, taking 1 leaves edge pieces for others after you. Also there are some people who really like corner pieces and there are only four of those, so it is gracious to leave the corners. 3 and 4 should be ruled out because they go deeper toward the center. Given that you are taking the first slice, we can assume that this pizza is fresh out of the oven. The deep edge slices 3 and 4 are too hot to eat at their center facing edges, which is what you would do because you hold it at the outer edge crust.

My Thoughts For All — You said you’d take pieces 3 or 4, and I'm with you. Thank God for those who love the messy middle pieces.

Zorn — Pieces 3 and 4 are the closest to a pie-cut slice, which is what I favor and roughly three out of ever five readers seem to favor as well.

The other raging debate in that item was over whether deep-dish pizza qualifies as “pizza” (“Deep-dish pizza: Like sex with a corpse made of sandpaper? Or a delightful dining experience?”)

Jay G — Deep dish is to be eaten intermittently, not every time (otherwise you get sick of it). But for a whole dinner experience, go get a real "casserole" pizza at Chicago Pizza Oven Grinders, 2121 N Clark St. Individual pies are cooked in their own bowls — yes bowls — with the crust on top and the cheese on the bottom. Then it's flipped over for you on your plate in front of you. But first, your table must share an order of Mediterranean Bread — warm, giant pita with herbs, olive oil, spices and parm, torn from the shared platter with your fingers. Also, start the meal with a "dinner salad," the smallest of which serves four.

Joan P. — You wrote that “stuffed and deep-dish pizza is made from standard pizza ingredients — cheese, tomato sauce, crust and toppings/fillings." So are calzones, but that doesn't make them pizza.

Zorn — I will give the final word to Leo Klein, who wrote “I spent two years in Rome and can tell you that you can order a deep-dish item there and in Naples called “pizza rustica.”

From: Inside the Rustic Kitchen

Looks like quiche to me, but it also looks delicious.

About that resolution

C. Pittman -- I can't believe you had no thoughts or comments on the spectacle of the city council and the mayor issuing a pretty one-sided resolution about the horrific events in Gaza that served to divide our city needlessly, as it will do absolutely nothing to change the minds or behaviors of Hamas or Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During a week when we had two drive-by killings of high school students leaving school, our city leaders and the Chicago Teachers Union, who obviously have no solutions to bring peace and stability to our own city, chose to involve themselves in international relations. If their actions didn't stoke antisemitism and hurt Biden before we host the Democratic convention, it would be almost comical. So much for Johnson being "collaborative." It is more evidence that his union organizer roots make him a better grandstander than a competent executive able to manage this city's many challenges.

Zorn — Oh, I had thoughts. But didn’t see how that resolution — the fight over it, the close vote — advanced the local or national or international discussion over this issue. I’m not sure why it matters to anyone what a sharply divided collection of alders — most of whom have no better grasp of the dynamics of that conflict than the average news consumer — thinks should be done half a world away to resolve a long-standing bloody conflict.

I fear it does matter that my lefty allies are so angry at how President Joe Biden is trying to navigate the situation that they’re swearing not to vote for him in November. Such a ballot-box tantrum stands to enable Donald Trump’s return to the White House, and that would be a disaster for every progressive priority. Trump is an ally and admirer of the most murderous dictators on the planet. The conservative sheep who follow him don’t care, but, my God, every liberal and Democrat should be deeply concerned and fired up to cast the only vote that will keep Trump out of office, not sulking.

Advice for Donald Trump

Rob Warden — Make a public statement to the effect that the media have been lying about your opposition to the immigration bill, which you actually strongly support. When the bill passes, you can truthfully take credit. The media (and President Joe Biden) would have to concede that the bill wouldn’t have passed without you. That would accrue to your political benefit.

Zorn — That would be some clever political jiu-jitsu, but it assumes that Trump is rational and that he actually gives a shit about the border. I doubt there is a single issue that he genuinely cares about as a matter of conscience. I don’t think he truly cares about poor people, working people, religion, trade, abortion … anything except insofar as his positions and statements can fire up his base.

Subscriber Services

J D Bernardi — I'm a paid subscriber and not able to vote on the visual tweets. Suggestion?

Zorn — This should not be happening! I wrote to Substack support and got this reply:

This problem for certain readers could be caused by a variety of issues, the most common being that the browser they use might have some plug-ins that interfere with the technical side of things. I suggest:

• Clearing your browser cookies

• Disabling all browser extensions

• Using a different browser

• Using a different device

If these don't help, let me know and give me some examples as well as their email addresses, and I can deep dive further and assist your subscribers by reaching out to them and guiding them to troubleshoot the issue. 

Ya gotta see these tweets!

Here are some funny visual images I've come across recently on social media. Enjoy, then evaluate:

Readers have raised some questions about what constitutes a “visual tweet” — last week’s winner, for instance — and I don’t have a firm answer. I don’t include cartoons, though Phil Are Go’s images are cartoon-like, and the “I’m pregnant, call me!” image above is probably not something an actual prankster is using.

Vote for your favorite. I’ll share the winner in Thursday’s main edition.

Usage note: To me, “tweet” has become a generic term for a short post on social media.

There’s still time to vote in the conventional Tweet of the Week poll!

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