Comment by Zell to employee

Regarding the “Work Rules” story (“Challenge authority, if you dare,” Feb. 5) in which Sam Zell zinged someone with an expletive when the person was encouraged to ask a question. Mr. Zell sounds like the typical cranky old billionaire who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

I do hope that the writer of the report, Molly Selvin, doesn’t get reprimanded for being a journalist, something about which Mr. Zell seems to be clueless as he wanders about the newspaper office in the fog of business profits, knocking down the furniture of good journalism and community service.

Patrick O’Brien

San Juan Capistrano

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There’s something about Times’ owner Sam Zell that makes me worry about the reportorial objectivity I crave in papers like The Times. And I suspect it came into play in his recent put-down of one of his employees: “What I’m interested in is how can we generate additional interest in our products and additional revenue. . . . “

Well, Mr. Zell, though I understand you have to make money to survive, I still would like -- actually, demand -- incisive truth in reporting, without editorial spin, unless the context is stated as editorial.

That’s what The Times was heroic for. That’s how you’re going to make the revenue you want from me, Mr. Zell.

Jim Gould

Burbank