Okay, so we’re not affiliated in any way with the Chicago Tribune (which, you may have heard, is a slightly bigger paper). But I’ve got to give a big pat on the back to the Windy City’s biggest daily for a major dupe on its rival, the Chicago Sun-Times.
The poor Sun-Times has always lived in the shadow of the Tribune, though in some ways they’re a scrappier paper (and they have Roger Ebert.) But the folks at the Sun-Times have to be red-faced this week.
A few weeks ago, the Sun-Times launched an anti-Tribune contest for who could create the best video about Sam Zell, owner of the Tribune, who has threatened to sell naming rights to the beloved Wrigley Field, home of the Cubs. (When Zell bought the Tribune Co., the Cubs and Wrigley were included in the deal.) For a while, the Sun-Times has rightly ripped Zell for wanting to rename the storied park for monetary gain, battering the Tribune in the process.
After the contest was announced, a group of Tribune employees got together and made a video – altering the words to Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” — then sent it into their rival.
And guess who won?
The undermining group was headed by a 22-year-old Trib intern, named Katie Hamilton, who was interviewed by the Sun-Times after her victory. Ironically, the win had the Sun-Times awarding Tribune employees $1,000, which they’ve pledged to give to charity.
When it was revealed that Trib employees had foiled the Sun-Times gag, the Sun-Times featured a headline proclaiming: “The Tribune Has a Sense of Humor. Who Knew?”
But, really. After that smackdown, Sun-Times employees need to crawl into a giant hole and stay there at least until next Groundhog Day. Because yet again, the Sun-Times comes up #2.
Posted on March 26th, 2008 by Pat
Filed under: The World According to Pat
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