Zell speaks, Trib Co. publisher exits

After more than 30 years at the top of the Chicago Tribune's food chain, publisher Scott C. Smith is leaving the company, the Chicago Tribune reports:

News of Smith's imminent departure after more than 30 years with Tribune Co. comes just one week after Zell and Chief Operating Officer Randy Michaels announced sweeping plans to redesign Tribune Co.'s papers and reduce the number of pages in response to worse-than-expected publishing revenue declines.

But in an interview, Smith said that move didn't precipitate his departure. He had never intended to stay beyond assisting the Zell team with its transition, and this seemed an opportune time to move on.

"If there's going to be the next new wave of important changes, it's important that those decisions be made by people who are going to own the outcomes and that frankly wasn't my likely time horizon," said Smith, 57, who began his second stint as Chicago Tribune publisher in 2006.

Smith is headed out the door with $4.7 million in severance and related benefits, plus $2.1 million that relates to his ownership stake in the Tribune Co., which was privatized.

As ever with these kinds of stories, you can take it at face value or you can read between the lines.

--Veronique de Turenne