Tribune: A Leaner, More Open Company
Sam Zell, Randy Michaels, Chandler Bigelow Outline Company’s Strategy During Conference Call
By Michael Malone -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/17/2008 5:57:00 PM
New Tribune chairman and CEO Sam Zell will look to deal some assets and promote a collaborative spirit in an effort to steer the beleaguered media giant to profitability.
Zell, interactive and broadcasting CEO and executive vice president Randy Michaels and chief financial officer Chandler Bigelow shared their strategy on a conference call from Chicago Thursday during which Zell vowed to make Tribune a “faster and leaner … 24/7 content/entertainment provider.”
Zell said a harsh economic climate forced him to consider dealing properties. He added that he expected to sell the Chicago Cubs at some point this year and had “reached no conclusion” as to whether the daily paper Newsday should be divested.
The mogul said he received some 3,000 employee e-mails and had face time with scores more staffers during an “internal road show” conducted within his first 90 days on the job, adding that he heard the phrase, “breath of fresh air,” time and again. “We believe we are changing the culture,” he said.
Michaels, too, spoke of shifting Tribune from a rigidly segmented corporate operation to one of self-starting and collaboration. He said the newspapers are employing more of an incentive-based model for sales, and papers and TV alike would play up local news. Michaels said the shift of KSWB San Diego from a CW outlet to Fox boosted the station’s intrinsic value by $150 million, and he was generally optimistic about Tribune’s broadcast holdings. “Broadcasting has paced well above the industry,” he added. “There’s a lot of upside to the stations, particularly the Fox stations.”
A former Clear Channel Communications executive, Michaels said there would be a relaunch of superstation WGN Chicago in May, and he called the integration of WSFL Miami and the South Florida Sun Sentinel newspaper, with the Sentinel publisher overseeing the station, “an interesting experiment” that might work elsewhere in the Tribune universe, such as Los Angeles and Sacramento, Calif.
On the interactive front, Michaels said the company would focus on fewer digital projects, but ones that feature greater revenue potential.
The Tribune brain trust said further steps would be taken to shake up the staid Tribune culture. “We’ve had a visible shift in company culture, but we’re not there yet,” Zell concluded. “The vast majority of our employees are eager for change.”
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This is mearly to put the employees on notice that the old Tribune is done. And that includes the Tribs loyalty to the CW as seen with the San Diego Fox deal.
I expect there will be no more major changes till after Feb 2009 when Digital conversion is complete, then I expect Zell will turn WGN and other stations into a strictly money making thing.
Remember Tribune was a broadcaster and a newspaper owner. Zell only bought it to make money and Zell will do whatever it takes to make money but to make the MOST money for the least expenditure
Eric Smith - 4/17/2008 8:04:00 PM EDT -
Why would a company so into providing "content" shut down its entertainment/syndication division?
Because they didn't want to embarrass all those incoming Clear Channel radio execs with people who actually know the tv business?
Dave Donaldson - 4/17/2008 6:50:00 PM EDT -
Why would a company so into providing "content" shut down its entertainment/syndication division?
Because they didn't want to embarrass all those incoming Clear Channel radio execs with people who actually know the tv business?
Dave Donaldson - 4/17/2008 6:49:00 PM EDT -
It seems to me that building a "new attitude" is admirable but the history and the real value of the Tribune company comes from the same employees who now embrace the future.This valueable group has advanced the Tribune message for many, many years. Those of us who have done business with them at the corporate and station level would verify that they were always fair, from the top down. It was a great company that seemingly is now positioned for a great future.
Tom Byrnes - 4/17/2008 4:52:00 PM EDT
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