After two years of writing long, rambling memos that made newspaper staffers from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale cringe, the missives became Lee Abrams' downfall.
Abrams was chief innovation officer for the Tribune Co., which owns the Chicago Tribune, the L.A. Times, and the Sun-Sentinel. He resigned last week after circulating a memo that included a video clip labeled "Sluts," featuring a woman dousing her bare breasts with liquor.
Ironically, the clip was from The Onion.com, and had it been circulated by anyone but the tone-deaf Abrams -- and not been part of a work memo -- it might be actually have been funny. After the jump, check out the video, a fake news story reporting on a bus crash that spilled "more than 2,000 pounds of slut" on the road.
VH1 Reality Show Bus Crashes In California Causing Major Slut Spill
This racy fare offended Chicago Tribune Editor Gerould Kern and other employees, who complained to human resources, the Tribune reported.
Abrams apologized, but his timing was awful. Days earlier, the New York Times ran an exposé on the Animal House culture created by the Tribune's top execs -- one of whom allegedly once offered to pay a hotel waitress to show her breasts. Abrams was suspended; then last Friday, he resigned.
It's safe to assume there's a collective sigh of relief at the Sun-Sentinel and other newsrooms over Abrams' departure. He was infamous for sending long-winded missives meant to inspire employees by using phrases such as "AFDI -- Actually Fucking Doing It."
One famous Abrams "think piece" -- sent during a time when newspaper reporters were being laid off by the hundreds -- told people to evaluate their offices and rid them of "traits" that make them "average" such as "UPTIGHT/PARANOID: You know the drill. You can FEEL the fear."
Wonder what Abrams is feeling now.
