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Articles tagged Jack Griffin (20)

“To whom will we now turn to enliven the continuing conflagration that is the American newspaper industry?”
Well-intentioned antitrust actions by the Department of Justice are likely to deliver two newspapers to a company with a record of milking papers for profit through deep cutbacks.
Austin Beutner was fired as the Times’ publisher last year after he clashed with its parent company over strategy.
As single-minded, profit-driven management drives down the local news business, where is its moral center — the one that long rested, if sometimes uncomfortably, alongside the demands of running a successful business?
The news business hopes it won’t end up one sandwich short of a picnic as the new year’s big trends unfold.
From newspapers for sale to a new wave of paid content; from ad blockers to Watson; from article particles to cutting back on print.
We know what continued ownership by Tribune Publishing looks like for the Los Angeles Times: cuts, cuts, and more cuts. A private, local owner would offer a better chance for sustainable success.
It’s taken lots of cuts to keep American newspaper companies even slightly profitable. But without better cashflow, they’ll continue to struggle to build the next version of the industry.
The purchase of U-T San Diego by Tribune Publishing — owners of the Los Angeles Times up the road — is a sign of the kind of newspaper consolidation publishers are being pushed toward.
From New York to Los Angeles, a lot of American newspapers will change hands in the next few months. Who wants to own a newspaper in 2015 — and why?