One day after the Chicago Tribune axed a dozen journalists, parent company Tronc disclosed raises and bonuses for CEO Justin Dearborn and CFO Terry Jimenez.
Tronc-owned Chicago Tribune staffers bid farewell to more of their colleagues as another wave of layoffs hit the newsroom Thursday. It marked the second round of layoffs in five months.
Tribune Newsroom Revamp Aims For Nimble
The Chicago Tribune unveiled plans today for a sweeping reorganization of its newsroom, aimed at becoming what publisher and editor-in-chief Bruce Dold called “more nimble, more entrepreneurial, more responsive to our readers’ current interests and permanent passions.”
Exclusives
Tronc Drops Robert Feder’s Chicago Media Blog
Mark Walter, controlling owner of MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers, says he’d buy the Tribune Co. newspaper ‘if the price were right.’ He’s also interested in the Chicago Tribune.
Longtime Chicago media columnist Robert Feder is launching a standalone media blog next month through a partnership with the Chicago Tribune. The editorially independent website, RobertFeder.com, will be owned by Feder, but licensed and marketed by the Chicago Tribune Media Group, an agreement based on generating online traffic and ad revenue.
As the costs of creating and distributing video come down, newspapers from the largest to some of the smallest are entering the space in an effort to create compelling content and new revenue streams. “When you have the right elements in place and people thinking about it, this can really change the way we tell a story,” the Chicago Tribune‘s Clark Bender says. Part one of a four part special report. Read part two here.
A national radio report this weekend revealing that hyperlocal content provider Journatic used false bylines in several stories that ran in TribLocal online has prompted an investigation by the Chicago Tribune. Journatic, brought in to run part of the Tribune’s community news operation, has acknowledged its mistake and said it would discontinue the practice.
Journatic: Efficiencies Make Hyperlocal Work
Last month the Chicago Tribune caused a stir by announcing that it would outsource its TribLocal network to content provider Journatic. The announcement stirred up worries of robotic journalism and content farms. In an exclusive interview with NetNewsCheck, Journatic CEO Brian Timpone explains how his company’s process of using algorithms and overseas workers to help gather community news can save publishers millions of dollars by better allocating their newsroom resources.
In Chicago, Trib is King, But ESPN Moving In
Chicago is the nation’s third-largest market when it comes to local online advertising, and the Tribune Co.’s Web outlets dominate (its WGNTV.com boasts that it’s the city’s No. 1 local news site), but sports giant ESPN is muscling in and stealing some of the Trib’s home court advantage with its own local play.
