Up from Skunkworks: Scripps+ Look Inward — and Outward — for Growth

Scripps is injecting a class of new talent into the organization, an injection that serves two purposes. First, the 40 change-makers are supposed to be getting release time, about 40% of their time to pursue next-gen solutions. Perhaps, as importantly, Scripps is importing 40 new paid interns, ...

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The Newsonomics of News in a Diversified World

News Corp.'s Avatar has taken in $2.75 billion. Compare that financial flexibility with the Times, and it’s night and day. The Times Co.’s total 2009 revenues: $2.4 billion, less than Avatar itself has produced.

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Gannett’s Whimper & Bang Show Strategies Plainly in Flux

So Gannett's decided that it's go-it-alone, devise-its own-local-marketing strategies approach didn't work.

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Nine Questions for 2H, 2010: Brains on internet, Reuters’ app success, TV tabs, Last Man Standing and Angelo’s question

Are we beginning to see the Last Man Standing strategy play out in the U.S.'s biggest cities? The New York Times is planning on building out 10-15 regional editions, on the model of its Chicago (partnered with the Chicago News Cooperative) and Bay Area (partnered with Bay Area Citizen) models. ...

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Without Online Classifieds, Online Ad Spending Was UP in 2009

In fact, if you parse the numbers, overall ad spend in the U.S. would have been up in 2009 – a year wracked by near Depression that saw print and broadcast advertising drop by 20% and more. Online classifieds lost $920 million year over year; overall digital ad spend was down about $700 million.

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Yahoo & AT&T Market Moves Show Perils of Partnership

If ad sellers think they have a puzzle to figure out, think about the ad buyers. Now there are many more people knocking on their doors, offering them "consultation" on marketing their goods and services. In the end, they'll want to rely on only one or two "consultants," and the battle is on to ...

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5000 New Competitors Just Landed in Newspaper Markets

Once ATT sales reps got up to speed (and that's certainly an intriguing question, given the newspaper company implementation experience), they'll be competing head-on with newspaper reps. Open up the Yellow Pages, and browse through furniture dealers, appliance sellers, home services of all ...

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Sam Zell’s Plan D: It’s All About Buying Time

Buying time, though, is what everyone in the newspaper industry is doing. The New York Times did it today as well, mortgaging its landmark building for $225 million. Scripps is doing it by "selling'' the Rocky Mountain News. All the companies are doing it as they refinance their businesses with ...

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Tribune’s Descent Sends New Shock Waves

* We've learned that Zell isn't too good with math. He told Portfolio's Joanne Lipman just last month that: "When we looked at the historical numbers, we saw an average erosion of about 3 percent. At the time we underwrote the transaction, we used a 6 percent erosion." But look at Tribune's 4Q, ...

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Frankly, Candidly, Truthfully: Newspapers CEOs Talk About 2Q

It’s time for second-quarter newspaper earnings reports, with Gannett leading off Wednesday, with the long tale of woe to follow. Given the many newspaper staff cutbacks, which I thought might include the investor relations people, I’ve put together a few boilerplate remarks that I ...

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