Shock Horror: News Slump

Today's WSJ has a good summary of the dilemma faced by Tribune Co., one of the country's largest newspaper publishers.  Stock is off 36% in three years and is at an 8-year low.

Wall Street says sell off the TV biz, but of course that would leave TRB holding an empty bag in terms of growth.

The CEO is taking on a risky restructuring: Borrow up to $2B, sell some assets and cut costs. 

Meanwhile, the overall ad market is up 5% although you would never know it looking at a 2-year stock chart for major newspaper publishers.

The challenge is to be on the right side of the disruption hammer. If I had to guess, I would say Mark Cuban is on the right side.

**Late Addition/Self-Critique**

On reflection, I want to be more constructive about the options available for media companies to evolve & grow.  As a starting point,  to construct a future-proof media company, what might be the elements to consider?  Here are a few questions:

• What are the attributes media consumers value and pay for today?
• What are the sociological trends that will drive consumer needs and values for next 10 years?
• What are the attributes media consumers no longer value & pay for?
• What are the business processes & attributes of media companies that are out of synch with point one and that should be sloughed off?

I am going to chase down some smart media observers to offer their suggestions on this one...Watch for more posts.