There are times in a company’s history that prove pivotal. I suppose one such time took place in 1979, when the Courant’s board of directors allowed the paper to become part of the Times Mirror chain.

Times Mirror, of course, was swallowed by Tribune, which ultimately brought The Courant along to where it is today.

Former ombudsman Henry McNulty now sends us this little snippet from an interview with one key figure whose gut told him that selling out was not the right thing to do. Considering the paper’s situation today, one has to wonder what things would be like if the Courant were still an independent publication.

On October 25, 1978, a reporter named Liz Gallese from the Wall Street Journal interviewed The Courant’s then-president, Edmund W. Downes, about the recently turned-down bid by Capital Cities Communications to buy The Courant.  Ed’s secretary, Dolores Doudera, sat in, and took down the interview in shorthand, later typing it up.  (The story appeared in the WSJ some days later.)

As you know, after the Cap Cities bid was turned down, in 1979 the Board accepted Times Mirror Co.’s offer.  Ed Downes left The Courant at the end of 1980, and before he left, knowing my ongoing interest in Courant history, he provided me with a transcript of the 1978 interview, along with other documents.  I thought our alumni might be interested in what Ed (who has since died) said 31 years ago.  Here’s part of the transcript:

Liz Gallese: Why, personally, did you vote to remain independent?

Ed Downes: Overall, I’m concerned about newspapers of the country becoming parts of groups – the concentration of news. The company has been a local independent company ever since its founding. I would like to see it remain that way. We have a feeling of belonging among employees – a closer relationship among employees than you do in most companies – and I think the employees should share in the results of their labor.  I don’t know what we have to gain by becoming part of a group.

LG: It’s very clearly apparent what some individuals stand to gain.  Is it fair to say you would make a substantial profit?  Instant millionaire?

ED: No.

LG: You would make a profit?

ED: Yes.

LG: Would you consider it substantial?

ED: Yes.

LG: How old are you?

ED: Fifty-eight.

LG: Is there a mandatory retirement in the company?

ED: Yes. Sixty-five is our retirement age.

LG:  Why not go out in style?

ED: I’m really not interested.

LG: Can you explain that to me?

ED: Simply, I don’t think money is everything – and my feeling about group ownership and the people who are here.

LG: Are you independently wealthy?

ED: No.

LG: Why, again, wouldn’t you want to retire comfortably?

ED: Because I don’t think money is everything.