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Tribune CEO Sam Zell just sent all the "partners" — his title for the employees who put up the money for him to buy the company — a note acknowledging today's bad financial news and calling on them to seize the day and save the business. No time for slugs and slackers, he essentially says.
I have been trying to instill a sense of urgency among you all. I have been trying to get your attention, so that you recognize that today, right now, we are determining the outcome of this company's future. When I tell you to take the initiative, to take steps to make Tribune more competitive - that means take action! Don't wait for someone else to do it. Don't wait for someone to tell you exactly what to do. Create your own idea, figure out how we can weigh its risk vs. reward, and, if it makes sense, execute. Get together with your colleagues, and fight to improve our performance. If we succeed it will be because of heroes in the field who lead a grassroots sea change.
Whole thing after the jump.
Dear Partner,Today we filed our 10-K with the SEC, and released fourth quarter and full year financial information for 2007. I'm sure it comes as no surprise to you that our results last year weren't good. Due to lower revenues, higher interest expense and some significant special charges, we reported a loss from continuing operations of $78 million in the fourth quarter. Our income from continuing operations for the full year was $55 million, which was a significant decline from 2006.
Unfortunately, this downward trend has continued into 2008. For the first two months of this year, publishing revenue is off more than we expected. While broadcasting is up over last year, it is not enough to offset the decline in publishing.
I have been trying to instill a sense of urgency among you all. I have been trying to get your attention, so that you recognize that today, right now, we are determining the outcome of this company's future. When I tell you to take the initiative, to take steps to make Tribune more competitive - that means take action! Don't wait for someone else to do it. Don't wait for someone to tell you exactly what to do. Create your own idea, figure out how we can weigh its risk vs. reward, and, if it makes sense, execute. Get together with your colleagues, and fight to improve our performance. If we succeed it will be because of heroes in the field who lead a grassroots sea change.
Now, let's focus on the future.
We've begun to build meaningful momentum so far in 2008. We've installed a new management team, initiated sweeping cultural change, taken significant steps to eliminate bureaucracy and to decentralize decision-making, and, I believe, we have improved morale across the company. We've also begun to infuse Tribune with more creative thinking than at any time in its history. On the operations side, we've shaken up our approach to ad sales across markets, and our newspapers, television stations and websites are embarking on an unprecedented level of cooperation.
Finally, as partners, I want you to know that the 10-K has information about the current value of the 56.5 million shares held by the ESOP. The total value of the shares at December 31, 2007, as determined by the ESOP trustee (after consulting with an independent appraiser) was $593 million or $10.50 per share. Remember that the value of these shares will fluctuate on an annual basis depending upon our financial results and capital structure. As we've explained previously, the first allocation of ESOP shares into individual employee accounts will take place in early 2009, but I think it's important that you know their current value. You may have some questions about the ESOP and the valuation of its shares. Here's a link to several new Q&As on this topic: http://triblink.trb/intranet/site/10k
We have an enormous challenge ahead of us. But, we're headed in the right direction.
The future is what we make of it together. Let's go for greatness.
Sam