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What Does Gannett Want With Tribune Publishing?

The building that houses The San Diego Union-Tribune, Sept. 23, 2014.
Associated Press
The building that houses The San Diego Union-Tribune, Sept. 23, 2014.

What Does Gannett Want With Tribune Publishing?
What Does Gannett Want With Tribune Publishing?GUEST:Rick Edmonds, media business analyst, Poynter.org

When Gannett, publisher of USA Today and a slew of smaller local and regional newspapers, made an offer for Tribune Publishing days ago, it was a whopper.

The offer was 63 percent over Tribune's share price on Friday, amounting to some $815 million.

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Those who know how much print media is floundering and sputtering just to stay afloat may have been confused at the high price.

Not Michael Ferro, the primary shareholder of Tribune. In an interview published by The Los Angeles Times, he said Gannett was trying to steal the company.

Gannett, according to media analysts from the Poynter Institute, sees The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and The San Diego Union-Tribune as regional anchors for the chain's local papers, producing journalism for them and helping them with investigations.

Gannett CEO Robert Dickey said it this way in an interview with Poynter.org reporter Benjamin Mullin this week:

"By bringing The L.A. Times and Chicago Tribune and The Baltimore Sun, it will ultimately make our network even stronger....The benefit to them: They would be part of a network that has well over over 100 million monthly uniques."

Rick Edmonds, media business analyst for Poynter, talks about what Gannett hopes to do with Tribune and its chances for success Friday on KPBS Midday Edition. Even he, however, can't explain the use of the term "monthly uniques."