As Mary Schmich, the longtime Chicago Tribune columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner, wrote on February 27, "When I left my first newspaper job, and expressed regret, a very wise editor said to me something that has haunted me ever since: 'Never be loyal to an institution because it will not be loyal to you.' That harsh wisdom is in my brain today." Earlier that day, it had been announced that the Chicago Tribune — following Alden Global Capital's December acquisition of a 32 percent stake in its parent company — would be parting ways with its publisher/editor-in-chief, as well as its managing editor.