Staff Blog
Just your average Sam Zell birthday party….
That is, if you consider around 800 people bused to an undisclosed location, around 15,000 square foot of space under a big-top circus tent, performance artists, actors dressed as animals, a parade of sculpted bronze circus animals, a large carousel, bearded ladies, illuminated photo-montages, stilt-walkers, six or seven bars serving top shelf liquor, food for miles, and a live performance from the ’80s band, The Eagles…. to be average.
For those who are unfamiliar, Sam Zell is the real estate magnate, arts patron, controversial turnaround maven who purchased the Tribune Company, which includes The Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Cubs, various radio and television stations, and whole litany of other properties.
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| Sam Zell |
And, well, Sam likes to have fun. So, every two years or so, he creates a ‘balls out’ party experience in Chicago, for a few hundred of his closest friends and family. I’m attached to the latter.
Here are a few pics from last weekend’s soiree:
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| Liza among the performers |
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| Wacky lampshade installation |
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| Illuminated photo installation |
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| Sexy bearded ladies. |
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| Jesse riding the carousel elephant |
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| Kinetic sculpture installation |
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| Host Sam Zell, and his wife Helen |
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| Don Henley and company |
Who are Jesse and Liza?
Why so bitter and sarcastic? Are you worried that yours is the next prized journalism position to wind up posted on Craig’s List? \
(Ironically, the very thing that you’re doing — blogging – is what’s killing your paper’s circulation…Of course, it’s not real blogging, but facsimile blogging – newspapers bandwagoning on a trend they should’ve pioneered but instead are lagging way behind).
Hey, if you were in Zell’s shoes, you’d throw the same dang party. So smile a little and don’t be yet another backbiting hypocrite.
Sam Zell laid off my husband. He could have worked another year – or five – had Zell skipped this party.
Sam Zell is nuts.
And the Eagles were an ’80s band? Who knew?
Wow! Looks like that cost a fortune! How many Tribune “partners” will need to get canned for that soiree!
Yo, Stig, chill out. What makes you think I’m bitter and sarcastic? I was at the party and had a great time. As for blogging killing newspapers? I don’t buy it. If anything is killing newspapers, it’s a combination of ego, hubris and lack of imagination on the part of newspaper executives, which over time has invited the classic “Who moved my cheese” effect. It happens in every industry, but what makes newspapers different is that they employ an army of reporters who are all too willing to write regularly about how the sky is falling, and then are really pissed when those same newspapers take aggressive measures to preserve the bottom line.
[...] Zell has a birthday party. (Merci to LAO.) original story | email this story | [...]
[...] wonderful that Sam Zell had such a nice birthday party for himself, rubbing his wealth in the faces of the poor saps whose lives and careers and [...]
while sam “fiddles” thousands of seniors are having to walk away from from their mobile homes due to his rent increases. he’s a one of a kind alright!
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