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 The masses continue to rage against the machine. In two of the latest examples, Northern Trust Corp. (NASDAQ:NTRS) was slammed for hosting a golf tournament, and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) CEO Ken Lewis was blasted for flying a private jet to a deposition in New York. Never mind that these specific activities are defensible. Northern Trust reported good fourth-quarter earnings and last month was rated an attractive buy by Barron's. Hosting posh outings so wealthy clients can hobnob with aging rock stars is business as usual for high-end banks. And soirées like these keep the likes of Sheryl Crow and Earth, Wind & Fire employed, which can only help the economy. But why should we expect the writers at celebrity gossip site TMZ, which "broke" the story, to understand such nuances? Meanwhile, Lewis used a corporate jet for exactly what a jet is good for: quickly getting from his Charlotte, N.C., office to a New York meeting and back. Then he can presumably do exactly what a bank CEO is good for: which is keeping his bank solvent, not putting out public relations bonfires. No doubt during this crisis there have been righteous reasons for the public and the media to collectively lose their cookies over excess and greed. Unfortunately, now we may be collectively losing our balance. Case in point: University of Connecticut basketball coach Jim Calhoun. Last weekend, Calhoun blew his stack when asked during a press conference if, as the highest paid state employee at $1.6 million a year, he intended to give any money back to Connecticut.
As this clip shows, Calhoun apparently suffers no fools gladly:
Unfortunately for the coach, his response has now made the
rounds online. Calhoun has clarified his comments. But calls for his
head are now coming from the Connecticut state legislature and folks are questioning both his lack of decorum and his value to the state's bottom line during an economic downturn. But the hype is somewhat inorganic. In covering the story, the media has identified the "journalist" involved as "free-lance writer Ken Krayeske, who is a student at UConn's law school." Krayeske is better known locally as a bit of a rabble-rouser and self-promoter -- much like TMZ. Two years ago, he was arrested during a protest against the state's Republican governor. Krayeske seems to have gone to this press conference seeking attention, not answers. He succeeded. There are plenty of authentic reasons to get outraged
these days. Shouldn't the media and the masses spend more time fixing
those problems, not hand-wringing over semi-silly exercises in
spleen-venting? - Tom Groppe CategoriesComments
From: Dan Ban,
I demand the money-losing post office cancel its sponsorship of Lance Armstrong!
Posted on:
February 27, 2009 5:07 PM
From: Tommy Maney,
Jim Calhoun is a loud mouth pig. More mouth than talent.
Posted on:
February 27, 2009 9:03 PM
From: Mark Andersen,
Good for the coach. About time someone told the media to shut up! What a little liberal wimp of a reporter!
Posted on:
March 17, 2009 8:48 PM
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Out of thousands of CEO's, why is it ok for the media to single out a few CEO's who they think spend shareholder money "inappropriately" but don't bother to run stories on individual homeowners who borrowed money they couldn't repay because they bought homes that were way too expensive for their income? In US Attorney General Holder's words...are they "cowards"?