Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Col. Tribune parties down!

So today the Governor of Illinois gets busted in an influence-peddling scheme.

Not the first time this has happened in our great state, I'll admit.

But when my Google news bot directs me to the main link for the story, I'm directed to a site called Chicago Breaking News, which appears to be a money-saving pooling of resources from across the debt-ridden Tribune Co. empire. Okay, nothing else unusual here...

But right at the corner of the page is a strange figure going by the name of "Colonel Tribune." I can't be too sure, but it looks like the image of the Tribune's curmudgeonly long-time owner, Colonel Robert R. McCormick. Seems the Colonel has found a new role at the paper as "the Chicago Tribune's Web ambassador. He is here to help you stay informed and in touch with the latest news."

Now, history tells us the real-life Colonel was more interested in keeping the country safe for Republicans, and for helping Chester Gould make sure each villain in Dick Tracy died a gruesome, violent death so Tracy would never have to stoop so low as to arrest and Mirandize them. And I'm pretty sure McCormick was never seen wearing a newspaper hat (a "Napoleon" hat at that), especially one with the name of the Tribune's web site instead of the newspaper itself. But I guess with new owner Sam Zell finding new ways to screw the employees by filing Chapter 11, we realize the Colonel is just another asset whose image can be exploited, just like Colonel Sanders.

Almost distracts from the fun of wondering what schmuck Blagojevich thought he sell Obama's Senate seat to.