Newsonomics: 8 Questions As Michael Ferro Leaves The Stage ($100 million Richer)

Michael Ferro has left the room. Tronc announced Friday that Merrick Media, the Ferro-led, Chicago-based investment firm had sold its 25% stake in Tronc. The hometown Chicago Tribune tries to tell us more about Sargent McCormick, the buyer of Merrick’s stake. We do know of his interest in the ...

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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: 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: Tronc & The Daily News, What To Make Of This Out-Of-The Blue Buy

For much of the winter and spring, Michael Ferro was uncharacteristically quiet. Once he’d defeated Gannett’s hostile takeover attempt of his newly named Tronc, Ferro seemed to cease being the center of the news industry storm. Some applauded; others privately told me they missed ...

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What Does Verizon Want With Yahoo?

When you’re the 15th biggest business in the U.S., you don’t need to execute deal gymnastics like the Reverse Morris. Verizon can leave that tactic to others (like Cerberus-controlled YP Holdings, which may use the technique as it teams with Goldman Sachs to pursue Yahoo) as it bids for Yahoo’s ...

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