Former New Haven Advocate Writer on the Tribune Co.

october 28, 2005  01:12 pm
In a profile in the Jewish Ledger, Paul Bass explains why he left the Advocate Weekly chain after 15 years: "I was fed up with corporate journalism. I really liked the people at the Advocate but the Advocate got bought out by one of the largest corporate chains in America ... Their whole commitment was not just to the bottom line, which was fine, but to an unrealistic profit margin that meant continuous pressure for budget cuts, which in turn meant abandoning any commitment to quality journalism. More importantly, the corporate atmosphere drained the creativity. I went crazy with all the forms of bureaucracy and group think." The Advocate Weekly chain was acquired by the Tribune Co. in 1999. Bass now runs the Web site newhavenindependent.com, while his wife, Carole, continues to serve as associate editor of the New Haven Advocate.