Randy Michaels' List Of Forbidden Words: Tribune CEO From Cincinnati Bans The Likes Of 'Diva' And 'Officials'

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- "Bare naked" is as rough as it gets. There's not a dirty word on Randy Michaels' list. It's a pedestrian lot -- including "pedestrian," which the CEO considers unsuitable for public airwaves. The former Cincinnati broadcast executive -- he made 700 WLW-AM and Clear Channel into powerhouses -- has ordered 119 phrases and words never to be spoken on WGN radio, Tribune's flagship in Chicago. News of the Michaels ban, along with the entire list of offenders, comes from Robert Feder at Vocalo.org. Feder sees WGN staffers as pawns in the hands of an over-bearing boss: "What's even more disturbing is that the CEO of a major institution would engage in such petty and insulting micromanaging of subordinates."

A memo from a station exec went out with the list. It says the point is to avoid "newsspeak," a word that's not on the list. Newsspeak means talking like an insider, or using jargon and language that isn't heard or used in everyday plain English. But the ban includes "alleged," a word that means to declare something took place without proof it actually happened. Alleged is a staple of crime beat reporting. Also sent packing: "undocumented alien," a phrase that indicates someone is, or is alleged (sorry Randy) to be in the U.S. without proper immigration paperwork. It is considered more precise -- and thus more accurate -- than the phrase illegal alien. Here's a sample of other things you shouldn't say in Chicago: Aftermath, auto accident, authorities, death toll, diva, folks, gunman, guys, incarcerated, legendary, manhunt, motorist, officials, pedestrian, perished, really, reportedly.

So the worst paragraph one could write might go as such: In the aftermath of an auto accident, the death toll included legendary diva Marie M. Marie who reportedly was a pedestrian when struck by a motorist who also perished, police officials said. Folks who saw the carnage said a team of state and federal authorities -- including the FBI -- were conducting a manhunt for a bandit who held up a nearby bank. Police confirmed the lone gunman recently had been incarcerated but escaped. Witnesses alleged the crash was caused by the chase. "Guys, if you catch him, you really need to lock him up," one of the onlookers told police at the scene.

Chicago Trib Gives Away Obama T-Shirts With New Subcriptions: A Randy Michaels Move?

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Former Cincinnati radio shock jock Randy Michaels has been the Tribune Co.'s Chief Operating Officer (COO) for slightly more than a month. He was known for outrageous promotions during his Cincinnati days as an executive with Jacor and Clear Channel. Now there's a flap bubbling because the Chicago Tribune is giving away Obama t-shirts when people purchase a subscription. The ploy is drawing complaints that the newspaper is biased because it is piggybacking off the Illinois senator's hometown appeal in Chicago. But Sam Zell, Tribune Co.'s chairman, promised last month the Michaels' era would shatter tradition:

"Randy is one of the most creative human beings I've ever known. But he is exactly what Tribune needs to keep moving forward -- smart, decisive, relentless, irreverent, fun and cutting edge."

So far, there's no word about Michaels' role in the political tie-in to the presidential campaign. But it sure is "irreverent" by traditional newspaper standards.

Tribune Co. Gets Serving Of Cincinnati Jelly Pudding: Hippie Rock Booster Frank Wood Is On The Board

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Frank Wood became a media mogul by running radio ads for zany products like negative-calorie cookies and an academy in Indianapolis that taught students how to speak with a haughty French accent. Not French, just the accent. There was even a pitch for the "White Rose and Lilac Virginity Restoration Clinic." The ads weren't real -- they filled up blank spots and made ears perk when he needed listeners.

Now the staid Tribune Co. that has been losing newspaper readers in Chicago, Los Angeles and suburban New York City is about to get a shot of creativity and entrepreneurial gusto from Ohio. Wood is joining the Chicago-based MSM giant's board of directors today as it goes private. It has been said many times he helped switch the FM band from elevator music to rock. Can he do something like that for newspapers?

Wood's trajectory is legendary -- he took his dad's classical music radio station WEBN-FM, 102.7 and turned it into an album-rock pioneer with an off-the-wall zest. Some say the early days of WEBN were the role model for the TV sitcom "WKRP in Cincinnati." Wood used to do a show as Michael Xanadu and the segment was known as Jelly Pudding. The station is now owned by Clear Channel and it remains a ratings force in the industry.

Former WEBN newsman Rick Bird wrote this piece for the Cincinnati Post in 2002 when WEBN celebrated its 35th birthday. Bird captures the creativity that flowed freely at the time. Wood is Harvard and the University of Chicago, which trained him to be a lawyer. He does not have a repuation as a buttoned down character.

Randy Michaels, another Cincinnati broadcasting whiz, is becoming a Tribune Co. senior exec. Michael is a former deejay who assembled many of the pieces that became Clear Channel. Eventually, he and the chain parted company. Michaels was an early proponent of putting political talk shows on AM radio, a move that probably saved AM. With creative and risk-taking executives and directors like Michaels and Wood at Tribune Co., there may be a chance that a business built on dead trees can actually manage to find its way to a lively future.