Publisher's farewell to The Times

Publisher David Hiller wrote the following note to Times staff following the announcement of his resignation. (The announcement is in a previous post here and covered in a Times news story.)

Folks,

When I told my mother that Sam wanted to see me this morning, she said “do you think he wants to make you CEO of the whole company?”  You see where a lot of my optimism comes from.  By now you have also heard that Sam had other ideas and I will be leaving The Times.  Sam’s the boss and he gets to pick his own quarterback.

Being the publisher of the Los Angeles Times, and before that the Chicago Tribune, has been the greatest privilege I could ever have imagined.  This is one very special place, and made so by all of you, and those of you gone before who dedicated themselves to bringing the news of the day to the city The Times helped build.  I want to thank all of you for what you do every day; it’s an incredibly important mission.

We are also engaged in the struggle to make sure our mission is also a viable business.  I believe we are on the right track, and am proud of what you have accomplished.  There’s a lot more work to do.  I’m sorry I won’t be here to pitch in, but I’ll be rooting for you.

David

Comments

[Alan B Cawi]

Why does The Times, a paper known for its integrity and honesty in reporting, continue to participate in the public fraud that is corporate doublespeak? The words in Mr. Hiller's goodbye letter in no way suggests he "resgined". Sam Zell canned him and the paper, doing the Corporate Raider's bidding, characterizes the ouster as a resingation. The Los Angeles Times has lost a honorable publisher, many distinguished editors and writers, and, now, its very soul. A sad day in Los Angeles, indeed.

[ElleJ28]

I am sorry to see David Hiller go. I don't believe it was his decision but that seems to be happening a lot lately.