Ending months of speculation, the Tribune Company announced on Wednesday
that it would spin off its newspapers, including The Los Angeles Times and The
Chicago Tribune, into a separate division called Tribune Publishing Company.
Its broadcasting properties would remain together in the Tribune Company.
The move mirrors one by News Corporation, which this summer spun off its newspapers into a discrete division. The common motivation is an effort to separate high-value, high-return entertainment and television assets from newspapers, which face a difficult operating environment that has dragged down earnings.
The Tribune Company, which emerged from bankruptcy at the end of 2012, signaled last week that it saw a bright future in broadcasting when it purchased 19 television stations in 16 markets, bringing its total number of television stations to 42 and giving the company a large footprint in the local television business.
The move mirrors one by News Corporation, which this summer spun off its newspapers into a discrete division. The common motivation is an effort to separate high-value, high-return entertainment and television assets from newspapers, which face a difficult operating environment that has dragged down earnings.
The Tribune Company, which emerged from bankruptcy at the end of 2012, signaled last week that it saw a bright future in broadcasting when it purchased 19 television stations in 16 markets, bringing its total number of television stations to 42 and giving the company a large footprint in the local television business.
