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Feder: Randy Michaels rise in the Tribune

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Posted by chicagomedia.org on May 08, 2008 at 14:10:33:

In Reply to: Randy Michaels COO, Tribune posted by chicagomedia.org on May 07, 2008 at 18:38:49:

May 8, 2008

BY ROBERT FEDER Sun-Times Columnist

It took only five months for Randy Michaels to go from complete outsider to chief operating officer of Tribune Co.

Calling his longtime pal "one of the most creative human beings I've ever known," Tribune Co. chairman and CEO Sam Zell promoted the lifelong radio guy Wednesday to oversee the whole shebang.

Since December, when Zell took over the company, Michaels had been chief of the broadcast and interactive units.

News of the promotion was "probably as much a surprise to radio industry folks as to the staffers at the various Tribune newspapers," said Tom Taylor, executive news editor of Radio-Info.com.

Regarding Michaels' recent visits to "meet-and-greet-and-shock-the-troops," Taylor said: "They were intended to throw a cherry bomb into the staid Tribune culture, and that's just what Michaels unfailingly provided to the radio industry."

Michaels' fabled radio tenure included overseeing the more than 1,200 stations owned by Clear Channel Communications.

"He pushed his people, but he also genuinely wanted them to have a good time and do work they'd be proud of," Taylor said. "His leadership style wasn't everybody's cup of tea and may have alienated some, but there was a method to the madness.

"Getting the Tribune Co. to loosen up, think in a more entrepreneurial fashion, and maybe have a beer or two will be his greatest challenge -- and one that Sam Zell really needs him to succeed at. There's probably never been a Harvard Business School case study like the one they'll have to do on Randy Michaels."

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: May 8, 2008 : BY ROBERT FEDER Sun-Times Columnist : It took only five months for Randy Michaels to go from complete outsider to chief operating officer of Tribune Co. : Calling his longtime pal "one of the most creative human beings I've ever known," Tribune Co. chairman and CEO Sam Zell promoted the lifelong radio guy Wednesday to oversee the whole shebang. : Since December, when Zell took over the company, Michaels had been chief of the broadcast and interactive units. : News of the promotion was "probably as much a surprise to radio industry folks as to the staffers at the various Tribune newspapers," said Tom Taylor, executive news editor of Radio-Info.com. : Regarding Michaels' recent visits to "meet-and-greet-and-shock-the-troops," Taylor said: "They were intended to throw a cherry bomb into the staid Tribune culture, and that's just what Michaels unfailingly provided to the radio industry." : Michaels' fabled radio tenure included overseeing the more than 1,200 stations owned by Clear Channel Communications. : "He pushed his people, but he also genuinely wanted them to have a good time and do work they'd be proud of," Taylor said. "His leadership style wasn't everybody's cup of tea and may have alienated some, but there was a method to the madness. : "Getting the Tribune Co. to loosen up, think in a more entrepreneurial fashion, and maybe have a beer or two will be his greatest challenge -- and one that Sam Zell really needs him to succeed at. There's probably never been a Harvard Business School case study like the one they'll have to do on Randy Michaels."

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