Well, at least they like the best of us ...
posted 3-3-2008 - 3:05 am

Not everybody hates print journalism or considers it obsolete yet. Or at least, not everyone in business hates newspapers and magazines.

Fortune's annual series of articles on the World's Most Admired Companies is just out. The Top 50 list frankly gives me pause. After all, it has Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, and Bank of America on it — and I can't see why any company that's received or is asking for a bailout should be on that list. Then again, this survey must have been taken before the bailouts really began; it's the only thing I can think of that would make sense of those rankings.

Comparisons are broken down into nine different categories, for which points are assigned — financial soundness being only one of those nine — and then all firms are also ranked on each of those individual categories. Fortune compiled its rankings based on a survey conducted in cooperation with Hay Group. Fortune explains its methods here.

Unsurprisingly, for newspapers and magazines, the four top rated companies (most admired) are the Washington Post Co., the New York Times Co., the McGraw-Hill Cos., and Gannett Co. All of this may seem ho-hum to many of you. On the other hand, as aggrieved as many of us have felt lately about the condition and future of journalism, there is one set of comparisons that might interest you. When Fortune examined which companies across all industries were most and least admired on the basis of product quality, the New York Times was at the top — ahead of firms like Anheuser Busch, Walt Disney, Herman Miller, Nordstrom, and Polo Ralph Lauren. Apple, which is once again the overall leader at number 1 in the Top 50 overall rankings, isn't even in the top 10 for product quality. Neither is Sony (no computer, software, or electronics firm is). The fact that the New York Times is at the top just goes to show that not everyone tars all media outlets with the same brush. The reporters and editors at The New York Times should feel a little better this morning, despite the company's financial difficulties.

And what about the 10 least admired in terms of product quality? You guessed it: McClatchy, Tribune and Gannett, which rank 5, 6 and 10 respectively on that list — which, curiously, is led by Fiat. Now, I've always known that much of the world has long considered Fiats to be throwaway cars: they're the auto of choice for smashing in chase scenes if you're making a film in Europe (like, say, a Bond film; check it out the next time you watch one of the Sean Connery or Roger Moore 007 films shot in Europe). I just didn't know that business folks thought even less of Fiat's quality than I imagined. But much as I've disliked the Chicago Tribune's ownership over the years, I didn't think I'd see the Tribune Co. sharing a spot with Fiat on a Worst Of list. I'll bet Trib owner Sam Zell didn't expect that, either.

The Tribune Co. is also ranked 4th worst on use of assets (McClatchy leads that list), 4th worst for management quality, 5th worst in terms of social responsibility (actually ahead of Fiat, which is 7th on that list), 5th worst in terms of financial soundness (McClatchy is 4th), 5th worst on long-term investment (McClatchy is 4th again), and 8th worst on people management. Whoa. That takes some doing.

Nice going, Sam! Any other dubious awards you're planning on getting? Do let us know.

For the record, neither the Sun-Times Media Group nor Hollister, Inc. were on any of Fortune's lists, good or bad. Somehow, I suspect they're probably relieved to have escaped notice in this case.

(Condolences to Tribune employees, who are already depressed enough from repeated downsizings and various Zell utterances. For them, this has to be just one more bamboo shiv under the fingernails. Sigh ...)