Feder Versus TribCo: The Poker Party

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jun 3, 2010 4:20PM

There's no love lost between Vocalo media critic Robert Feder and Tribune Co. CEO Randy Michaels so we're not surprised to see Feder takes on Michaels and the Tribune Company today over a poker party held in the old office of Col. Robert R. McCormick at the Tribune Tower. Feder snagged the photos from the Facebook page of exec John D. Phillips and reports the photos were dated June 17, 2009.

“We are in the office of the guy who ran the company from the 1920s to 1955 — it’s normally a shrine,” wrote John D. Phillips, the Tribune Tower building manager who posted the photos. “We pretty much desecrated it with gambling, booze and cigars. Good thing we know the guy who runs the building!”

Among those identified in the photos with Michaels were Lee Abrams, senior vice president and chief innovation officer of Tribune Co., Marc Chase, president of Tribune Interactive, and Kevin “Pig Virus” Metheny, program director of Tribune news/talk WGN-AM (720). One of the photos shows Chase and Metheny holding large wads of cash.

Feder doesn't exactly attack the TribCo folks for the party, but he mentions the recent bonus kerfuffle and, given that the date of the photos puts the party in the middle of the TribCo's recent bankruptcy proceedings - as well as the company's layoffs and cutbacks - there is a bit of a "Nero fiddles while Rome burns" feel to the story. We're just happy Feder hasn't gotten a hold of photos of the naked Twister parties we've held at our office.