Return of The Bright One: An Interview with new Sun-Times owner Jim Tyree

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: Return of The Bright One: An Interview with Jim Tyree : Pat Hickey 15 December 2009 : : For the better part of an hour this past week, I met with Jim Tyree, CEO of Mesirow Financial and new owner of the Sun Times Media Group. We met in the historic John R. Thompson Building at 350 North Clark, the 1912 Bakery Building that has been home to Mesirow Financial for some time. But not for long. : Wednesday was packing day for a pending move to a nearby building. The elevators were padded. Big plastic hoppers and storage boxes were being marked and tagged for moving day. At the center of the calm but vigorous activity was Jim Tyree, hauling boxes right along with Kelli Caudill, his executive assistant, who ushered me into a nicely appointed but worker-friendly office. : As Tyree finished his tasks I nosed around the books, plaques and photos. There are the usual mementos and honors, but they do not overwhelm. Here sits a big informal photo of Jim Tyree with President and First Lady Obama, but parallel to that one is Jim Tyree with Ralph Johnson, Verdine White and Philip Bailey of the legendary 1970s soul band Earth, Wind and Fire. : Photos of a President and First Lady are part and parcel of the CEO/Captain of Industry houseware—pack with care!—but Mr. Tyree’s honor of the great Earth, Wind and Fire is what caught me. : “Earth, Wind and Fire was my music. I’m a seventies kid. They stepped up to help with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Great guys.” In my hour-long chat with Tyree, that was the very last time I recall his use of the first person personal pronoun. Jim Tyree is no “I” Guy. : Why would a hugely successful and very low-key guy want to stick a target on his back by getting into the dying print journalism business? “Everyone wears a target,” was Jim Tyree’s reply. : “This is all about value. This is a great product and came as a great value in terms of price. Look at the talent. Hundreds of skilled reporters. Local news, outreach to more than 300 communities! What does a TV station have—maybe eight reporters? What does a radio station have—maybe two reporters? Sun Times Media has hundreds with Chicago Sun Times and Suntimes.com, plus seven suburban daily newspapers in Illinois and Indiana. It has thirty-nine weekly newspapers published by the Pioneer Press and twelve weekly Sun newspapers. More importantly, it has talent. Great reporters. It’s all about people. These people were abused by management –Black and Radler. For years those guys diminished the product put out to the public and cut the people doing their jobs. : “Sun Times Media is a great team. Again, look at the talent. Jeremy L. Halbreich , Fred Lebolt, Rick Surkamer and the great John Barron—he’s a newspaperman acting as Group publisher as well as publisher of the Sun Times and Pioneer Press. John Barron is a respected leader in journalism.” : “Newspapers—the way people read the news—is changing. Newspapers are good for another decade or two and good products deserve to be managed by the best people. Our team will do that. That’s what investment is all about and Sun Times Media is great investment.” : James Tyree has been busy team-building at Mesirow Financial for those thirty years. He joined Mesirow in 1980 after earning his degree at Illinois State University. In 1990 he was named Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and CEO. Tyree is Chairman of the Board of Chicago City Colleges and serves on the Board of the Big Shoulders Fund, which supports inner-city Catholic schools. He’s a busy man. He’s a team sports guy. : Conrad Black and David Radler were flamboyant company brigands. To say that they were buccaneers would be nonsense. James Tyree is a kid from 103rd and Hale in Beverly/Morgan Park—a guy who identifies himself by his place on the team. Tyree’s team includes Chicago working–man longevity of soul/jazz/pop geniuses Earth Wind and Fire? It does. : James Tyree, like all of us mortals, has a target on his back because he wears the jerseys of the teams he leads. Luckily for Chicago, the Sun-Times will have a team in place, making sure that a strong product produced by great people will continue to be delivered. : ** : Pat Hickey is a regular columnist for the Chicago Daily Observer

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