Defending Randy Michaels
A message from Radio Ink Publisher Eric Rhoads
A message from Radio Ink Publisher Eric Rhoads
OK, it's official. Randy Michaels has "resigned" from Tribune. If you've followed this story for the past few weeks, you'll recall that Tribune has been criticized for high bonuses paid to the executive team during the company's bankruptcy (though they were approved by a judge). The nail in the coffin, though, was a damning article in the New York Times about Michaels and his Tribune team's "frat house behavior." The Times downplayed the fact that the story was written by several former employees who had been terminated by Tribune and ended up at the Chicago division of the Times, a competitor. But it looks like they've been successful in their revenge.
It's no secret in the radio business that Randy Michaels doesn't follow the rules and doesn't behave like the rest of corporate America. That's why the entire radio industry has been clinging to this story: His life at Clear Channel and then Tribune is like a soap opera. That's the Randy Michaels we know and love.
When billionaire Sam Zell bought Tribune and brought Michaels aboard, he knew exactly what he was getting -- though perhaps his board didn't. Zell placed a wild, unconventional rebel at the helm of a dying newspaper company -- knowing he had no newspaper experience -- because Michaels had made him a ton of money at Jacor.
Zell knew Michaels would use his brilliant mind to reinvent the newspaper business and find a way to take that company to great new heights. Though the evidence might have been slow in coming, I believe they were on the right road by investing heavily in innovative solutions, digital media alternatives, and creative approaches to a very dry and boring business. Nothing new happens overnight, and financial pressures don't make investing for the future easy.
In the pre-consolidation days, we understood that fun off the air equaled fun on the air, and that people who loved coming to work every day would make impossible things possible. Of course this behavior is unacceptable in the corporate world. Just ask. Heaven forbid employees have fun at work. Unfortunately, the radio industry has become sanitized and few stations today know how to play, how to promote, or how to create innovative solutions.
Randy Michaels didn't fit in at Clear Channel, and he didn't fit in at Tribune. Though his personal wealth has soared, he's probably learning what the rest of us already knew: Sometimes a rebel can't survive in a stiff corporate environment or in a public company. Perhaps he's a better fit in a privately held company, where the pressures of Wall Street perceptions won't plague him. The only way survival is possible is if the board is willing to stand up to constant criticism from those who don't understand the playful effectiveness and rebellious nature of Randy Michaels.
The final straw, of course, goes back to the stories the press likes to pick up -- the reported card parties with strippers, the supposed sexual harassment, the alleged distribution of pornography. It's true that those things have no place in business and they place a lot of people in difficult positions with their bosses and fellow employees. Does it actually go on? Though I suspect it probably does, I have no personal experience in a business environment with Randy Michaels.
This is a changing world, and though Randy Michaels is ahead of the curve of change in terms of media and technology, one prominent female radio executive told me she believes Randy is still operating in a Mad Men world and has changed in all other areas, but perhaps has not kept up with the times socially.
It's hard to know the real reason Randy Michaels is out at Tribune. Perhaps the board doesn't like the negative press and embarrassment from the Times article, or they're not willing to wait for Michaels' investment in digital media innovation to pay off. I suspect it's a sad day for Sam Zell, who will now be operating with a group of uptight, uninteresting academic types who want to preserve the way newspaper has always been done. What hope can he have now that his investment in Tribune will pay off?
Randy Michaels gets branded for the unfortunate little things he does that make great headlines. He's not often recognized for the great things he does -- like the innovation he spurred at Tribune, which is more than the entire newspaper industry has seen in the past 150 years. Though you may disagree with Randy's over-the-top behavior, you can't deny his genius in business.
What I love about Randy is that despite his rule-breaking, he usually comes out ahead because of it. He may be unconventional, but I've never seen evidence that he's unethical. Employees either love working in his party-like environment or they hate it -- but those who remain will go through brick walls for him because they understand the value of his genius. Randy is a brilliant strategist and a very good businessman. What he does in his personal life is no one's concern, unless that behavior gets in the way of his reinventing the radio or newspaper business.
The sad part about Michaels' resignation is that we'll probably never get to see the results of his innovative thinking. My guess is that the next CEO will shut down any people or ideas that smack of being futuristic or down-the-road initiatives and will focus instead on selling more print ads. Michaels' was the best chance anyone in the newspaper business had of true reinvention. If allowed to follow Michaels' strategy, the newspaper industry might have been saved. Oh, well, no love lost. I don't even get a newspaper anymore.Where will Randy Michaels show up in the future? The partners at Bain and Lee would be savvy to put him in as the new CEO at Clear Channel Communications, because he's one of the most brilliant minds in radio and he'd completely change the company's culture. Because Clear Channel no longer has to protect its public company reputation, he could potentially survive with the new investors. But after their first experience dealing with Randy's free spirit, it won't happen as long as the Mays family has a vote. And what other radio company is willing to take the risk? Probably none.
Yet as long as there are unconventional investors like Sam Zell willing to take the heat for an unconventional operator like Randy Michaels, I suspect this won't be the last chapter in the Randy Michaels book.
Eric Rhoads
Publisher of Radio Ink
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