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* He did such a great job owning the Sun-Times that his can’t-miss business acumen is now in dire need at the Tribune…
Michael W. Ferro Jr., the majority owner of the Chicago Sun-Times’ parent company, has significantly expanded his media holdings without straying far from home.
In an unusual transaction, a company led by Ferro has bought a 19.9 percent stake in Sun-Times’ rival Tribune Publishing for $44.4 million, a move that will make his firm Tribune’s single-largest shareholder and shift his office out of the Sun-Times building.
Ferro, 49, will become non-executive chairman of Tribune, the publicly traded company whose publications include the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and nine other daily newspapers. […]
Ferro will retain his majority investment stake in Wrapports, the Sun-Times’ parent company. But he will step down as Wrapports’ chairman and cede all control of the Sun-Times and affiliated companies, including the Chicago Reader and Aggrego, a national network of online-only publications. The Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times will continue to operate independently.
Good news for Sun-Times employees, not so great for Tribune workers.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 10:28 am
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“…not so great for Tribune workers.”
Depends. I bet Kristen McQueary and Bruce Dold get a raise.
Comment by 123 Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 10:31 am
Well at least he won’t have to force out any editorial writers for not carrying Rauner’s water enough.
Comment by hisgirlfriday Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 10:33 am
What’s the Sun Times circulation down to now? 100,000?
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 10:33 am
It’ll be the best of both worlds, a 16-page ultraconservative newspaper with a terrible website where every article is behind the paywall.
Comment by Man with a plan Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 10:36 am
Isn’t this the same guy who forced the Chicago sun-times to reverse its no endorsement policy and suddenly endorse Bruce Rauner in the ninth hour and isn’t Ferro one of Rauner’s and ivestment partners?
Comment by sosilly Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 10:36 am
For the love of god, don’t let him do to the Tribune’s website what he’s done to the Sun-Times’ site…
Comment by Father Ted Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 10:37 am
Wonder if Eric Zorn worries more about being McKinneyed now?
It will take more, like two Hurricanes, to scare Kristen McQueary with Ferro taking the helm. Kristen is not a team player, she falls into line.
Best of luck, Sun-Times, and CST reporters and employees.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 10:37 am
LOOK!
A Stegosaurus!
Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 10:40 am
I hope the digital team works the same wonders with the Tribune’s website that they did with the Sun-Times
Comment by Lincoln Parker Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 10:41 am
oh my. are we headed to the Trib as a tabloid?
and, yes, please, for the love of god, do not let those who run the ST website near the Trib site. yes, too many of those Trib pieces are behind the paywall, but at least one can navigate the site. the ST site is horrid.
Comment by Amalia Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 10:41 am
The Tribune’s stock price has fallen from $25 a couple years ago to around $9 today. Broadcast and Real Estate are separate businesses that raped anything of value before the newspaper biz was sold off. For example, Careerbuilder and I think Cars.com were part Trib properties and the result of the evolution of the classifieds to online. Classifieds pay for the presses. The Zell boy toys who broke up the business left the paper with nothing but an onerous lease.
The Sun-Times has been an unmitigated disaster the last three years. Newsroom morale is at an all-time low. A couple star columnists fighting the good fight but it’s dead man walking. The tech superstars ownership brought in have done nothing.
The is a case of 1 + 0 = -7
Comment by Chicago PR Guy Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 10:45 am
So, do we get another newspaper that won’t have a staff photographer? A swell daily USA Today insert? Jenny McCarthy as columnist? Useless website?
Lot of cuts coming, you can be sure.
Probably not a bad price for the public employee pension funds left holding the bag for Trib Publishing after bankruptcy.
Bezos got the whole shooting match at the Washington Post for $250 million.
Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 10:48 am
What a farce.
Ferro has no credibility in any newsroom and helped dig the grave for the sun-times with poor leadership and an awful online product.
If this becomes a joint-venture - I feel incredible sadness for Chicago and the city’s journalists.
Comment by Dee Lay Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 10:50 am
The Sun-Times needs a civic minded or politically active sugar daddy to purchase it and run the paper as a not-for-profit. Fred Eychaner?
Comment by PB Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 10:50 am
Great, now he gets to ruin another newspaper in Chicago.
Comment by Colin O'Scopey Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 10:54 am
If newspaper publishers were licensed like attorneys Ferro would be permanently disbarred for malpractice due to what he’s done to the Sun-Times website.
Comment by Please no! Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 10:54 am
So now we have a one newspaper town with 2 different names.
Comment by Union Leader Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 11:00 am
The Sun-Times website is indeed horrible, but the paper isn’t - it still has a core of top investigative journalists, lively columnists (though a couple are starting to phone it in), sports coverage, and the USA Today supplement has really helped.
Comment by lake county democrat Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 11:06 am
I like the Soduko and crossword puzzles.
Comment by Union Leader Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 11:12 am
There is a direct correlation between his ownership of Chicago newspapers and increase in Capitolfax readership.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 1:00 pm
Understand and agree with much of the griping about the Sun-Times, but the Trib is a pretty bad newspaper itself.
Comment by From the 'Dale to HP Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 1:23 pm
“Good news for Sun-Times employees”
I couldn’t disagree more. People need to see the writing on the wall. Most of the Sun-Times is operated by the Trib currently (printing, delivery, some back office). Now that Ferro is going to own the Trib (this is the first step), he’ll probably shut down the Sun-Times and combine their operations.
This is a very bad day for Sun-Times employees and for Chicago media generally.
Comment by Chicago Cynic Thursday, Feb 4, 16 @ 2:41 pm
Now Bruce and Katrina are ready to complete their Sith training.
Comment by Keyrock Friday, Feb 5, 16 @ 6:55 am