Word is Getting Out!

The tropical fish ran out of their favorite food this morning, live blood worms, and all the aquarium stores seemed to be closed, so I did what any concerned fishkeeper would do, I googled blood worms chicago.

And what should appear at the very top of the search results but yet another horror story about Chicago's own Tribune Company undermining American journalism. (If we can find these stories while looking for fish food, they must be everywhere). We've read and heard a lot about the war between Tribune and the LA Times' newsroom, but this evisceration of journalistic quality is taking place in Hartford, Connecticut. Under the headline "Tribune Reporter Has Had Enough," Hartford Courant staff writer and author Rinker Buck pens an open letter to the Tribune exec in charge of driving the Courant into mediocrity:

This is an open e-mail from a concerned and experienced newsman who isn’t afraid to tell you that Tribune’s “cost center” mentality is alienating your workforce, driving readers away in droves and contributing to a loss of confidence among advertisers and the civic community.

You can read the full text of Buck's letter here.