| Lee Abrams | |
|---|---|
Lee Abrams is an American media executive who has held a number of posts for large and influential companies, and is generally credited with developing the "Album Oriented Rock" format employed by hundreds of radio stations across the country.
Contents |
Most recently he was the chief innovation officer for the Tribune Company (2008–2010) but prior to that founded XM Satellite Radio and served as Chief Programming Officer at that company until his departure in 2008, founded and ran notable radio consulting company Burkhart/Abrams, served as an internal consultant for ABC Radio, and helped develop nationwide radio formats such as Z-Rock and Radio Disney.
Additionally, he has been involved on the recording side of the music industry, producing Ah Via Musicom for guitar virtuoso Eric Johnson and appearing on several Alan Parsons Project CDs. He has also consulted and even managed such notable acts such as Yes, The Moody Blues, Steve Winwood, Iron Maiden, Bob Seger and EMI Records.[1]
In 1993 Newsweek listed Abrams as one of their "100 Cultural Elite" and was cited by industry publication Radio Ink as one of the 75 most important radio figures of all time.[2]
On October 15, 2010, Abrams resigned from Tribune Company following revelations that he wrote an email to staff with a link to a video that some within the company considered offensive.[3]
That same day, New York Times public editor Arthur S Brisbane published an editorial questioning his paper's use of anonymous sourcing as one of the "load bearing" elements of the story, particularly as it was a "sensational episode" in a story about a competitor.[4]
On October 19, 2010, Forbes reporter Jeff Bercovici published an email from Abrams defending himself including some specifics not included in mainstream coverage. Notably, that the video was from parody site The Onion and that it had been previously shown at a Chicago Tribune sales meeting to a positive reaction.[5]
On October 28, 2010 Abrams talked for the first time on video with My Damn Channel about his experience at Tribune. Regarding the memo that led to his resignation he tells interviewer John Loscalzo "That memo was designed to point out how silly some of these reality shows are. It was just hilarious video. I showed it around a lot. People said, 'oh yeah, just a true satire that made a great point.' The thing that surprised me about the outrage is that the Onion is a partner of the Chicago Tribune. That very video was shown at a Chicago Tribune sales meeting and everybody yukked at it and it's also to me - kind of scary - that at a media company in the 21st century in the context of that memo you can't send around a parody clip to make a point. I apologized for it that it offended some people but I view it as a deeper political motive behind all that. It was very convienent to help get people like me out of the company."