For you media types, here is the column explaining the purchase of the Post-Tribune and other Sun-Times suburban papers, written by Robert Feder, the best in the biz: It’s official: Tribune Publishing Co. announced Friday it has acquired all 38 suburban publications owned by the Sun-Times parent company and will continue printing and distributing the Sun-Times daily newspaper under a new long-term agreement with Wrapports LLC. Terms of the agreement, first reported here October 21, were not disclosed. Sources said negotiations to finalize the deal ran late into the night Thursday in order to meet the goal of a November 1 deadline. Tribune Publishing paid cash for the suburban newspapers, insiders said, which include the Aurora Beacon-News, Elgin Courier-News, Lake County News-Sun, Naperville Sun, Post-Tribune in Northwest Indiana, SouthtownStar and the 32 Pioneer Press weekly newspapers. They now become part of Chicago Tribune Media Group, which operates the Chicago Tribune, RedEye, Chicago magazine and Hoy, among other brands. “We’re excited and thrilled to add these iconic titles to the Chicago Tribune Media Group,” Tony Hunter, chief executive officer of Chicago Tribune Media Group, said in an interview Friday. “We believe it’s an opportunity for growth. We’re looking forward to growing the hyperlocal content we provide to consumers, growing the number of solutions that we can provide to clients, and frankly, just growth in general. “It’s a great deal for us, and we believe a great deal for these titles. We believe they are already good, strong brands in their markets. We think we’ll enhance their capabilities, especially on the digital front, and we also believe that there’s other scalable solutions that we have done at Tribune Publishing that can help them do their jobs better. We believe they’re in great position already, and we will make them better. “Our main priority in the short term is to continue to provide great service and content to our consumers and clients, and also to make this seamless to our employees. We’re thrilled to add these talented employees to our company. In the near term, we believe it should be seamless to our news employees and seamless to our consumers,” Hunter said. Bob Fleck, executive vice president of advertising for Chicago Tribune Media Group, will oversee the acquisitions in his new role as publisher and general manager of suburban operations. Fleck said the company will continue to publish TribLocal suburban inserts in the Chicago Tribune as well. “We think we really can bring together the great things that are happening with TribLocal as well as what’s happening with the newly acquired suburban properties, and make it better for all,” he said. “There’s no plan to abandon the TribLocal strategy. We believe this is just going to make everything stronger.”Chicago Sun-Times The Sun-Times’ current printing and distribution agreements with Tribune Publishing, in place since 2011 and 2007, respectively, were due to end this spring. While the new deal assures short-term life for of the Sun-Times, it leaves Wrapports a shell of its former self, with only the Sun-Times daily and free weekly Reader in its print portfolio. Earlier this week, Wrapports announced plans to launch Sun Times Network with websites and apps delivering content from multiple sources to 70 cities. “This transaction allows Wrapports to focus on our international digital strategy and to financially strengthen the Chicago Sun-Times,” Wrapports chairman Michael Ferro Jr. said in a statement. “We will invest in the Sun Times Network and Cube Network while ensuring the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper remains journalistically independent and on financially sound footing for many years to come.” (My blog is published independently under a licensing agreement with Chicago Tribune Media Group.)
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 22:00:55 +0000
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