May 4, 2024
In five languages (English, Mandarin, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian) and two U.S. printing, “Newsonomics: Twelve Trends That Will Shape the News You Get” is the first Ken Doctor book. Sign up here for notice of the new Newsonomics Readers.
On Friday afternoon, Tronc announced that its lead shareholder Merrick Media, led by just-resigned board chairman Michael Ferro, was selling its entire stake in the company. McCormick Media — managed by Sargent McCormick, a distant relative of the McCormick family that controlled the Chicago ...
Read MoreWhat are we to make of The Denver Post’s “extraordinary display of defiance”? As the paper’s editorial board, led by Chuck Plunkett, fired a fusillade of public protest on Sunday — publishing six pages decrying the paper’s owner, to the social congratulations of the news world — we may have ...
Read MoreIt almost sounds like a riddle: What’s a Tronc without the L.A. Times? As the Tronc sale of the Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune finalizes, now most likely in mid-April, the next question arises: What becomes of Tronc? Its eight remaining titles own an impressive history and still play ...
Read MoreUpdated later March 19, 7:52 p.m.: So what led Tronc chairman Michael Ferro to suddenly “retire” today? I throw around some ideas in the piece below, published early afternoon, but it looks as if we have a definitive answer. Fortune’s Kristen Bellstrom and Beth Kowitt broke the ...
Read MoreThursday marked a day of reckoning for Tronc. The company — the last big public newspaper company to report year-end earnings — released those numbers for 2017. They weren’t good, as I had signaled in my earlier reporting on the chaos at and subsequent sale of the Los Angeles Times. But what ...
Read MoreIs it really only the beginning of March? The news business’ gyrations seem to be moving at warp speed this year, and particularly this week, as two newspaper companies long in the news make new big moves. As Tronc reckons with the crash of its stock price and oh-so-private Alden Global Capital ...
Read MoreNo, 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 ...
Read MorePatrick 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 ...
Read MoreIn 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 ...
Read MoreAll 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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