FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2005
Editor: Should newspapers be owned by public companies? <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4930489>
Some quotes from David Folkenflik's report (audio; no transcript) on Tribune's problems:
John Carroll, former Los Angeles Times editor: "I have to say the job satisfaction and the wear and tear on the soul surrounded these issues of resources and constant cost-cutting. The Los Angeles Times is still very strong journalistically, but one wonders how long it can stay strong."
Scott Smith, Tribune Publishing COO: "We do a lot of market research and very few readers will tell you they want more news. What we need to do is give them the news and entertainment information and other categories, including advertising, that they value in their lives."
Michael Waller, former Baltimore Sun publisher: "In many of these operations that the Tribune's got, the fat is gone. Every time you cut now, you're cutting something serious."
Howard Schneider, former Newsday editor: "Is it compatible for newspapers to be owned by public companies given the pressure on public companies to keep their stock prices up?"
Doug Arthur, Morgan Stanley media analyst: "If they don't show better [stock price] numbers, the company could get taken out by somebody. And then there could be a lot of carnage."
Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times columnist: "This is a newspaper that literally makes hundreds of millions of dollars a year free and clear, so it's not a problem of -- hey, we're losing money."