An excellent observation from Talking Points Memo:
The most depressing thing I've heard in a while was Wall Street Journal
reporter Shira Ovide on Chicago public radio this morning describing
Tribune Co.'s predicament. She pointed out that the Chicago Tribune
itself actually has pretty good cash flow (relatively speaking) and
some cash reserves. In other words, this is a company that should still
be leading the industry – if it weren't for its massive, crippling
debt.
reporter Shira Ovide on Chicago public radio this morning describing
Tribune Co.'s predicament. She pointed out that the Chicago Tribune
itself actually has pretty good cash flow (relatively speaking) and
some cash reserves. In other words, this is a company that should still
be leading the industry – if it weren't for its massive, crippling
debt.
That debt comes from two of the worst decisions in recent corporate
history. The first was Tribune's purchase of Times Mirror in 2000 for
the vastly inflated price of $8 billion, which made the company double
down on old media without gaining any strategic benefit. The second bad
decision piggy-backed on the first. Swooning from the fallout of the
Times Mirror deal (including a very foreseeable $1 billion tax
penalty), they paid another $8 billion to put a man who actively hates
newspapers in charge of one of the nation's biggest newspaper
operations. What could possibly go wrong?