Tribune’s troubles reflect old media in new age

December 10, 2008, 3:18pm PST | Length: 00:01:19

ZDNet Senior Editor Sam Diaz offers his take on the recent filing by Tribune for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Diaz says newspaper executives only have themselves to blame, by holding tight to the traditional way of delivering news and generating revenue, shunning online-only platforms such as blogs and microblogging as a way of reaching readers.

Transcript

Tribune’s troubles reflect old media in new age

Sam Diaz: Tribune, the parent company of news giant, such as The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection while it reorganizes. It's sad to see the nation's traditional news outlets struggle so much, but in all honesty, they largely have only themselves to blame. As they reorganize, they should rethink what they do and how they do it. For too long, news executives held tight to the traditional way of delivering news and generating revenue, shunning online-only platforms, such as blogs, social networks and microblogging as a way of reaching readers. When the floodgates of the blogosphere opened, the news media dismissed blogs as a fad. Nothing more than online journals for regular people. They were so very wrong. Slowly, traditional news outlets have been coming to terms with the power of the Internet. Not because they finally recognized the value, but because others recognized it before them. But is it too late for them? It doesn't have to be. I hope that companies like Tribune who employs some of the best professional journalists in the world, conduct themselves up, do some soul searching and come back with a business model that doesn't just conform to a new way of reaching readers, but instead comes up with new models that will put them back on top where they belong.

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They need to get out of the "yellow rag" busines first.

Do you seriously think they belong on top? They are "Johnny, one note" for any socialist idea that comes along. When, or if, they start "reporting" the news rather than dumping only their slanted crap on the public, maybe, just maybe more people will even read them. A little more fact and a lot less fabrication will go a long way.
wblacroix@...
12th Dec 2008
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Complete Agreement

That is the basic problem with the newspapers today. Too blatantly biased and also too late in reporting the real news. They have also become a "let's charge our customers for page after page of ads". While the need for advertising is understandable, it is absurd when you have entire sections with, maybe, 1 entire page of news interspersed with 11 pages of ads.
bobc4012@...
12th Dec 2008
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RE: Tribune?s troubles reflect old media in new age

Something is missing here... Like, even a smidgeon of humility!

Early-on, parent Ziff-Davis embraced the Internet like a Times
Square *****, yet still couldn't avoid Bankruptcy. All the "tsk,
tsk" Talking Heads routinely pontificate about "Innovative
Solutions" and accuse anyone who won't drink their Kool-Aid
of stubbornness. Even so, these pundits don't actually point to
any working models of financially-successful transitions to
publishing in Cyberspace. "Free & Anonymous" are ingrained,
historic tenets of Internet culture ? As such, they are also loom
as huge impediments to any organization attempting to make a
profit by delivering information via the Internet...
deltadan
15th Dec 2008
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Tribune's Troubles Due To Sam Zell's Greed

The Tribune is in trouble because owner Sam Zell set up an incredibly complicated purchase deal that screwed over the employees, put the paper deep into debt, shamelesslly rewarded the outgoing executives with massive sums of money for selling the Tribune empire to Zell, and because Sam Zell -- a very far right wing nasty of the first order -- hates newspapers. He has single-handily dumbed down the paper, forced out most of its top reporters and columnists and decimated the reporting staff. The Tribune's flop under Zell is do more to his unbridled greed and imprudent financial moves than not understanding the new media.
dl@...
22nd Dec 2008
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