In Praise of Tom Giuffrida
March 7th, 2008 | Published in Journalism | 3 Comments
I was told on my first day at the Palm Beach Post in 1995 that the paper’s publisher, Tom Giuffrida, made it a habit to commit to memory the headshots of new employees so that he would recognize them in the halls of the building. Since to me the Post seemed a huge company, I figured that the chances of running into the big guy were small, and the chance that he’d remember everyone was equally remote.
Of course one day I did pass him in the hall and he did greet me by name. But that’s not my best Giuffrida story. In the late 90s, the society editor for the Palm Beach Daily News - the “Shiny Sheet” published for the island’s rich and famous, wrote a column about Donald Trump’s attempts to create a deep-water anchorage spot near his mansion, Mar-a-Lago. A silly idea, even for Trump, it never had a chance in Palm Beach. Shannon Donnelly’s column asked something like “Who whacked Donald Trump with the stupid stick?” (I’m using approximations because I can’t find a Web cite and it has been a few years.)
Trump, of course, didn’t especially like the characterization, and wrote Donnelly a note in which he complained and also called Donnelly some rather choice names. It was a nasty letter that ended with the claim that while he had been called many things, stupid was not among them.
Publicly, there was no response from either the Daily News or Donnelly. But it turned out later that there was a response, and it was described by New York magazine. Giuffrida, a man who is anything but flashy, had written Trump a brief reply that included a line that went something like this: “You have been called stupid many, many times.” For a publisher who didn’t seek to inject himself into the public scene, it was a great example of how he defended his employees. The newsroom loved it.
Giuffrida is stepping down as publisher after 23 years in the spot. The benefits to the paper - stability, vision and competence - have been significant, and it’s sad to see him go.
March 7th, 2008 at 7:51 pm (#)
Amen. Tom Giuffrida greeted me by name even during the years I spent in a bureau 40 miles away from the main office. And not using my real but rarely-used first name William, but almost always as Mark, the middle name I prefer for conversational use. How did the man know I preferred Mark? He just did.
March 8th, 2008 at 6:23 am (#)
[...] In Praise of Tom Giuffrida - The Scoop Tom Giuffrida’s 23 years as publisher of The Palm Beach Post: “The benefits to the paper - stability, vision and competence - have been significant, and it’s sad to see him go.” (tags: pbpost work) [...]
March 9th, 2008 at 1:48 pm (#)
Sheesh, I thought I was special, but he greeted you guys by name too? Seriously though, I was impressed when Mr. Giuffrida stopped by to welcome me back after I’d left the Post for a while a few years back. Some people in the newsroom didn’t notice I’d been gone. And I’ve always been impressed that Giuffrida’s fair way of dealing with people — his sense of decency — seemed to trickle down to the newsroom. I hope that doesn’t change.