New York: Tronc, the publisher of The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune, announced on Monday that it had acquired The Daily News, the nearly 100-year-old tabloid that for decades set New York City’s agenda with its gossip, sports and local coverage.
The deal represents the end of an era for The News, which was long a voice for New York’s working class. It may also signal the end of the political influence of its owner, the real estate magnate Mortimer Zuckerman, who often used the paper’s bold, front-page headline for commentary about candidates and politicians, locally and nationally.
The News once claimed A-list columnists including Liz Smith, Jimmy Breslin and Pete Hamill, but it has been worn down by a grinding tabloid war with the Rupert Murdoch-controlled New York Post. And like the rest of the newspaper industry, The News has been battered and bruised by the internet age, when the equivalent of pithy headlines — a staple of The News — come a mile a minute on Twitter.
Layoffs have reduced its staff. The paper’s circulation, which exceeded 2 million in the 1940s, is now in the low hundred thousands.
At Tronc, formerly Tribune Publishing, the deal is something of a triumph for its chairman, Michael W. Ferro Jr., who took control of the company in early 2016. Owning The News gives Tronc newspapers in the country’s three biggest media markets — New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — along with markets including Baltimore and Hartford, Connecticut, which the company hopes will endear it to national advertisers.
Under the terms of the deal, Tronc assumes control of The News’ operations, its printing plant in Jersey City, New Jersey, and its pension liability. No cash will change hands. Tronc will also receive a 49.9 per cent interest in the 25-acre property overlooking Manhattan where the printing plant is. It was not immediately clear what The News’ pension liabilities were; however, previous reports indicated that they were worth more than $30 million.
Tronc also expects to save money by using the plant in Jersey City to print The Hartford Courant and The Morning Call of Allentown, Pennsylvania, according to people briefed on the negotiations. Such an arrangement could be worth millions of dollars annually.
At Tronc, formerly Tribune Publishing, the deal is something of a triumph for its chairman, Michael W. Ferro Jr., who took control of the company in early 2016. Owning The News would give Tronc newspapers in the country’s three biggest media markets — New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — along with markets including Baltimore and Hartford, which the company hopes will endear it to national advertisers.
In some ways, the deal is a homecoming. The News was long owned by The Tribune Co., which spun off Tribune Publishing in 2014.
Tronc also expects to save money by using the printing facility in Jersey City to print The Hartford Courant and The Morning Call of Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company would then ship those papers to those cities, the people said. Such an arrangement could be worth millions of dollars annually.
Zuckerman, who bought the paper in 1993 for $36 million in cash, put The News up for sale in 2015 and drew interest from several wealthy businessmen, including the supermarket magnate John A. Catsimatidis. But later that year, Zuckerman took the paper off the market, raising fresh questions about its future.
Under Ferro, Tronc has pursued an aggressive strategy of deal-making. Last year, Gannett sought to buy Tronc, but Ferro resisted; Gannett raised its offer several times but ultimately walked away, though investors continue to speculate about a potential deal. Ferro also tried to buy US Weekly, but the deal fell through, and he most recently was engaged in conversations to have Tronc buy The Chicago Sun-Times, a newspaper Ferro once owned personally through his investment company.
