It’s OK if Brian Tierney loses the Inky and Daily News

That certain seems to be the message of my old boss, John Temple, former editor and publisher of the late and lamented Rocky Mountain News. Since that paper’s closure, he’s been taking some time to ponder the future of the news business — and it’s fair to say he’s skeptical about what he’s seen of Brian Tierney’s stewardship at Philly’s daily papers.

Then, just before the papers totally tanked, in another example of bad judgment recounted in a solid Sunday Magazine article in The New York Times, Tierney “accepted a pay raise and a $350,000 bonus right before the bankruptcy filing — and after employees agreed to give up their own paltry union raises.”

Look, I’ve seen Tierney in action and I welcome his passion for newspapers and for the survival of the two in Philadelphia. I want to see him or any other owner succeed. But I’ve also been on the inside of a troubled newspaper operation and it’s impossible to believe that when he got his pay raise and bonus he, and others involved, didn’t know how serious his company’s financial problems were.

If you were a shareholder, would you want somebody who took a pay raise when his operation was plunging under water running the company? How could you trust that he would put the best interest of the company over his own?

I don’t know. That’s why I wouldn’t get too sentimental about which ownership group takes over the papers.

John put it a little more directly in his Twitter post linking to the blog:

Why it’s hard to believe CEO of Philadelphia papers when it comes to what would be best for their survival.

John isn’t saying anything that isn’t already widely believed in Philadelphia. But after Sunday’s NYT piece — in which Tierney mostly comes off looking like a kinda heroic, “damn the torpedos!”  captain going down with the ship — it’s an important reminder that even in the wider industry, Tierney is seen as more of a robber-barron.

Podcast: John Temple and the future of news

Ben and I spoke with John Temple, the former editor and publisher of the Rocky Mountain News and the man who hired us to moderate RedBlueAmerica.com, about the future of the news media. Temple, who has turned to blogging with gusto, recently wrote a provocative 10-part series on what he would do to revive newspapers’ flagging fortunes.

Temple is as provocative in the interview as he is on the blog. “If you’re not adding value you shouldn’t do it in print,” he told us. “Because there’s no way you’re going to be reporting the news in print, unless you’re the one making the news.” Among the other questions we tackle in this edition:

• Is it enough for newspapers to merely be newspapers?
• What shouldn’t local newspapers be covering?
• Is the crisis that’s affecting media organizations merely the result of dumb business decisions?
• What did the glorious failure of RedBlueAmerica teach us?

Music heard in this podcast:

• Excerpts from Ferde Grofe’s “Tabloid Suite,” including “Run of the News,” “Going to Press,” and “Sob Sister.”

Find the podcast here. Or go to iTunes and find it here.

The death of the Rocky Mountain News

About a year ago, I spent a few days huddled in the offices of the Rocky Mountain News with Editor John Temple and some other bright, friendly folks, trying to launch a little political website that — unfortunately for me — died before it had been fully birthed.

Tomorrow, the Rocky prints its final edition after nearly 150 years.

I’ll dispense with analysis for now — except to note that this is probably the beginning of a very bloody year for American journalism. When the dust settles, there will be journalism. It will look very different, however. And that’s fine, but there’s a great deal of pain to endure before we get to that point.

Right now, that pain is being borne by Temple, Linda Sease and Vincent Carroll, among other good people I got the chance to know during my brief time at Scripps. I wish them well. They are in my thoughts.