The Deal from Hell

How Moguls and Wall Street Plundered Great American Newspapers

By: James O'Shea

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser

In 2000, after the Tribune Company acquired Times Mirror Corporation, it owned the most powerful collection of newspapers in the world. How then did Tribune nosedive into bankruptcy and public scandal? In The Deal From Hell, veteran Tribune and Los Angeles Times editor James O'Shea takes us behind the scenes of the decisions that led to disaster in boardrooms and newsrooms from coast to coast, based on access to key players, court testimony, and sworn depositions.

The Deal from Hell is a riveting narrative that chronicles how news industry executives and editors - convinced they were acting in the best interests of their publications - made a series of flawed decisions that endangered journalistic credibility and drove the newspapers, already confronting a perfect storm of political, technological, economic, and social turmoil, to the brink of extinction.

©2011 James O'Shea (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Numerous books have covered endangered daily newspapers, but few relate the sad saga from the perspective of a top editor with investigative reporting experience…. Given O'Shea's level of detail and candor, some journalism icons will almost surely lose respect within their field…. A spirited, fascinating insider's account of a troubled realm." (Kirkus Reviews)

"This book is a passionate and heavily researched account of the case against the cyber-utopians." (New Statesman)

Great Listen

This is a great listen! The level of deal detail is great. The pictures painted of the people involved is worth hearing about all by itself!

Old Media

When I think about the newspaper, I always assume as old media, but most of the population in the world get their news on print. I am writing this a few days after the bombing in Boston. Ironically, the next day after the tragedy, I saw more people reading this headline on print, instead of viewing it on a glowing tiny screens.

Maybe the newspaper should only print the paper when something major happens in our society. Most day to day news are just fluff pieces that is just taking up space. Do we have to know last night's sports scores, outdated stock quotes, the weather, or Lindsay Lohan. How is this news worthy?

I can't remember when I bought the newspaper. You actually have to go out of your way to buy the paper and pay for a subscription and having to deal with the physical paper is just dumb. It's not worth my time to recycle the paper.

"The Deal from Hell" is a good read. I actually learned a lot for listening to James O'Shea's experience at running the newspaper. The newspaper is an old boys club, where ink on paper is becoming a dinosaur.

I just hope that a Postmaster will write a book on the Post Office and see how they have no business and where 100% of the mail that they deliver is just SPAM.

A Sad Tale

Look around the country and there is no doubt that America’s newspapers have been in a state of decline for sometime. James O’Shea, however, tells the story of this state of affairs from the perspective of a top editor. In The Deal from Hell: How Moguls and Wall Street Plundered Great American Newspapers, he relates how owners such as Sam Zell, Lee Abrams and Randy Michaels drove their papers into the ground. Along the way, he opens the curtains on what took place behind the scenes. This story will not be of interest to everyone, but will be informative to all who read it. O’Shea covers some old ground, but the review places this story in context. He spends a large amount of time on details which are tangential to the story, but extends the reader’s understanding and adds a great deal of color. Anyone interested in the decline of newpapers in the US and in media in general in that context will be rewarded by reading this book. The reading of L J Ganser is excellent.

The truth about the decline in newspaper

James O’Shea attempts to paint a picture on how the media has been transformed due to big business. I think he gives a face to what most of us already know. Personally I still recall how the white house leaked a story to a journalist.. then the journalist wrote the story …then the white house said the story was credible due to the news article – yep that type of circle represents what we seem to be losing, oh and if you are looking for that tale it is not in this book.

I found the book to have a good flow and it was well done. There were parts where I wished he went into more detail, like after the initial press room cuts what happened to reporters do they go somewhere else change careers? Are those that are left forced to write more? The tale Mr. O’Shea tells about how the Tribune Company started to fall in part due to the loss of advertising revenue and in part to the mismanagement of the paper itself. The book leaves one to wonder in times like these where we so desperately need unbiased news media if not papers who will fill that role?