Newsonomics: 11 Questions Into The Year, on Vulture Alden, the Merc’s Decline, the Post’s Profitability and The Daily Goes All Radio

No, the saga of the Los Angeles Times isn’t the only story in the newspaper world. It’s just that in its breathtaking oddness, it consumed the beginning of our year. Let’s begin with one question about the future of the Times, but then move on to other early-in-the-year questions that may tell ...

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Newsonomics: Inside Tronc’s Sale of the L.A. Times (And All The New Questions To Come

Patrick Soon-Shiong has finally won his hometown prize. After a number of years of trying to buy his local paper, Los Angeles’ richest billionaire has seized an unpredictable opportunity. In a move that’s shocking but not really surprising, 65-year-old Soon-Shiong will pay a chunk of ...

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Newsonomics: Lewis D’Vorkin Out At L.A. Times, More Tronc Changes In The Works

In the latest stunning development at the Los Angeles Times, Tronc is moving two of its top executives to new roles, I’ve learned. As conference calls consumed key Tronc executives this weekend, the still-in-process battle plan now includes the end of embattled Times editor-in-chief Lewis ...

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Newsonomics: Who and What Is The New L.A. Times Network?

All of the furor consuming the Los Angeles Times’ newsroom over the past half-year may just be a prologue. Tronc has apparently made operational a newer entity — Los Angeles Times Network LLC — to launch its just-revealed-to-investors strategy of major content creation, distribution, and ...

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Newsonomics: NPR’s Ross Levinsohn Scoop Delivers A Double Blow To Tronc

On the same afternoon that NPR’s David Folkenflik was to release his scoop on Los Angeles Times publisher Ross Levinsohn’s alleged history of workplace harassment, Levinsohn himself delivered a manifesto of sorts on Tronc’s strategy. Speaking to the Needham Growth Conference ...

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Newsonomics: Inside L.A.’s Journalistic Collapse

How far is The Post from Los Angeles? Figure almost 50 years, as well as 3,000 miles. While big audiences and the remaining fully paid journalists can delight in the triumphant Spielbergian tale of The Washington Post’s decision to follow The New York Times in publishing the Pentagon Papers in ...

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Newsonomics: Can A New Management Team Soothe The Roiled Los Angeles Times Newsroom?

In the midst of a union organizing vote, new Los Angeles Times editor-in-chief Lewis D’Vorkin is moving forward with a sweeping reorganization of the Times newsroom. He will, I’ve learned from numerous sources, soon announce three new top hires — all from outside a newsroom in turmoil. Those ...

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Newsonomics: Can Cross-Subsidy (And Nursing Homes) Help Revive The Singapore Press?

    SINGAPORE — Even virtual monopolies get the blues. Singapore Press Holdings — publisher of its flagship Straits Times — is confronting the worldwide downturn in newspaper business fortunes. The large daily (383,000 daily circulation, print and digital) and its well-regarded parent ...

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News industry analyst Ken Doctor: ‘People will pay for quality content’

“People will pay for quality content. When the Times launched a paywall in 2011, people joked about it and said it would never work,” said Ken Doctor, a news industry analyst, on a recent Digiday Podcast, hosted by Brian Morrissey. “But even since before the Trump bump, we’ve seen that ...

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Newsonomics: 20 Words That Defined The Bizarre News Year That Was

This is the year America wishes it could take a shower long enough to wash away the scum of daily mud-slinging. Remember 2016? Last year, it seemed as if Tronc was the most memorable word of the news year, a new media name seemingly invented as self-parody. In 2017, the memorable words tumble ...

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