In covering Cubs, bias suspicion looms

Timothy J. McNulty | From the Public Editor

May 16, 2008

This is an old sportswriters rule: No cheering in the press box.

Expect to see that rule broken whenever Tribune Co. sells the Chicago Cubs.

Ever since the parent company of the Chicago Tribune bought the ball team in 1981, Tribune journalists have lived with the suspicion of bias, favoritism and conflict of interest in covering professional baseball in Chicago.

No matter how fair and even the coverage, readers—especially readers who are White Sox fans—believe that Tribune stories are skewed either in favor of the Cubs or against the Sox. "It's impossible to change that perception among Sox fans," said Dan McGrath, the associate managing editor for sports, "even when they won the World Series and we put out a special section almost every day and did two books on the Sox."

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Tribune Co.'s ownership of the Cubs has been a bane not only to those who write and edit sports pages, but to business and metro reporters as well. I hear about it constantly. The Cubs are more than a sports franchise in terms of news coverage. Decisions about zoning regulations and parking in the neighborhood, about renovations to the treasured stadium and the sale itself are issues that have the potential to raise ethical questions.

The newspaper's editorial board recently took the unusual step of recusing itself from commenting on a possible deal for Wrigley Field between the Tribune Co. and the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority because there is too much self-interest on the part of Tribune employees.

When I asked George de Lama, the managing editor for news, about the anticipated sale of the Cubs, he replied: "For the journalists here, tomorrow would not be too soon."

For all these years, Chicago Tribune reporters and editors have tried to handle the conflict with transparency. The connection is acknowledged whenever relevant, not in routine game coverage, but more in business and local stories.

Many readers don't put much faith in the separation between the Cubs and the newspaper because of their common ownership. For them, it's too thin a veil. It does make the newspaper vulnerable to those who don't mind if the lines are blurred. Back in 2004, Mayor Richard Daley claimed the Chicago Tribune was not examining itself closely enough on needed repairs to Wrigley Field. Tribune editor Ann Marie Lipinski shot back that the paper was the first news organization to report on the falling concrete and the Cubs' failure to obtain permits for the repairs.

A media company owning an entertainment franchise is not unique, but it is thorny. Cablevision Systems Corp. of Long Island, N.Y., announced it will buy Newsday from Tribune Co., returning that newspaper to local ownership. That may help Tribune Co., but now Newsday journalists should expect to face readers questioning their independence on reporting about their new owners.

Editors insist that suspicions of unfairness are unfounded. The days when White Sox officials measured the number of column inches devoted to each team are over, but part of the lore is that legendary Sox owner Bill Veeck complained about getting a raw deal and claimed the Tribune favored the Cubs.

That was in 1959, more than 20 years before the company bought the team.

Sportswriters especially feel as long as the Tribune owns the Cubs, it's a no-win situation.

"We would be accused by some readers and some writers at the Sun-Times that we were favoring the Cubs or were being told what to write by our bosses," Tribune sports columnist Rick Morrissey said in an e-mail, "and we would be accused by the Cubs of being too hard on them because we were trying to prove we weren't favoring them . . .

"All I can say is that in the 10 years I've been at the Tribune, including seven-plus as a columnist, I never once had anyone above me tell me what to write or chide me for what I wrote, even when I called Wrigley Field a 'dump.' "

A couple years ago, Morrissey wrote how he dearly wanted the Tribune to sell the Cubs. He also said the only emotional investment reporters and columnists have is not whether the Cubs win or lose but whether they have a good story to write.

Paul Sullivan, who has covered the Sox for six years and the Cubs for nine, said his track record speaks for itself. Being accused of having a pro-Cubs bias, he recognizes, is just an "occupational hazard."

News about the Tribune and the Cubs bubbled up again this week when the Sun-Times reported that Sam Zell, the chief executive officer of Tribune Co., rejected a Sports Facilities Authority proposal to acquire and renovate Wrigley Field. Then Tribune business writers reported the decision to sell Wrigley and the Cubs, which was expected to be complete this year, may be put off for yet another year.

Say it ain't so.

Timothy J. McNulty is the Tribune's public editor. His e-mail address is tmcnulty @tribune.com