Sprint: Lublin and Sharma Carry the Mail

Need to send an important message to a loved one? You could call them directly, or you could do an interview with the WSJ's Joann Lublin and Amol Sharma.

That's what activist investor Ralph Witworth did in making it clear that he had lost confidence in Sprint CEO Gary Forsee, sending a big whopping signal to the Sprint board that it needs to act.

"Earlier this week, activist investor Ralph Whitworth told The Wall Street Journal that he had lost confidence in Mr. Forsee. Mr. Whitworth threatened a proxy fight for board seats unless Sprint directors 'immediately' dealt with the company's leadership issue."

Why not call the board chairman directly instead? Because the chairman is Foresee himself.

Aaah.

Forsee did not respond, but apparently other members of the board did, taking Whitworth's "immediately" quite seriously. Instead of using the telephone, e-mail or carrier pigeons, the "people familiar with the matter" chose instead to use Lublin and Sharma to reply. By doing so, the "knowledgeable" and "informed" persons effectively moved the story from "Forsee/board Under Pressure" to "Forsee to Go."

Predictably, the public correspondence triggered an avalanche that effective buries Forsee

Watch for things to accelerate, as the CEO engages his fellow board members about the public abandonment. If the story lives up to its archetype, Forsee will press for a show of confidence, which will only result in the predicted ouster.