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LA Observed file photo of the downtown building where the LA Times leases office space.
Jack Griffin, the chief executive of Tribune Publishing, says it has been a good year in his newspaper world. I have to wonder how many at the Los Angeles Times (or any other papers) would agree with him. The newspapers split off from other Tribune Company assets, such as the TV stations and the real estate where the LA Times is now a renter, a year ago. Here's Griffin's morale note to the troops from earlier today.
By the way, Mexico is now being covered at the Times with freelancers. The Times closed its Mexico City bureau temporarily last week with longtime bureau chief Tracy Wilkinson headed for a new posting in Washington. She's still tweeting about Mexico news.
From: Jack Griffin
Sent: Tuesday, August 04, 2015 12:41 PM
Subject: Celebrating Our One-Year Anniversary
Dear Colleagues:
Tomorrow marks an important milestone in our Company’s history: It was on Aug. 5, 2014 that Tribune Publishing began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
This event is especially important for a mission-driven business such as ours, and I want to take a moment to thank each of you, in every department across the Company, for your hard work and steadfast commitment over the last 12 months.
In that time, our Company achieved a number of successes, notably:
· Each of our brands earned significant industry and peer awards for outstanding journalism. Among them: The Los Angeles Times earned two Pulitzer Prizes for criticism and feature writing. The Chicago Tribune was named a finalist in two Pulitzer categories for investigative reporting and local reporting. The Baltimore Sun was also named a Pulitzer finalist for editorial cartooning. The Daily Press earned the Virginia Press Association’s coveted First Amendment award. The Hartford Courant earned recognition from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists for the brand’s yearlong efforts to mark its 250th anniversary of continuous publication. The Orlando Sentinel earned six first-place awards in the Florida Society of News Editors Journalism Contest. Sun Sentinel earned recognition for excellence in education and features writing from the Education Writers Association and the Society for Features Journalism, respectively. And The Morning Call earned the state’s highest award for journalism, the Pennsylvania News Media Association’s G. Richard Dew Award for Journalistic Service.
· Our brands continued to deliver unmatched local news and information in the communities they serve. The Baltimore Sun’s coverage of the death of Freddie Gray demonstrated the power of a local brand in driving national and international coverage. Earlier, the Los Angeles Times brought back “California,” a daily section devoted to local and state-wide news. The Chicago Tribune editorial team published a “New Plan of Chicago,” a call-to-action to address the city’s social problems and improve the quality of life.
· Our brands embraced new forms of storytelling across platforms. The Orlando Sentinel and Sun Sentinel continued to pioneer video journalism, each earning nominations for a regional Emmy. Orlando Sentinel was also awarded a grant from The Knight Foundation to build a digital database, “Tabs on Tallahassee: Tracking the Florida Legislature in Real Time,” to better inform residents on legislative news. Additionally, Tribune Content Agency recently introduced the TCA Video Network, a new premium video syndication service. And our native advertising team, Tribune Content Solutions, significantly expanded the portfolio of solutions we offer marketers nationwide.
· Our digital team introduced deeply engaging online and mobile experiences, including a comprehensive suite of Apple Watch apps for all of our properties. Collectively, our iconic brands and digital properties, including ForSaleByOwner.com, now attract more than 43 million unique visitors and generate more than 362 million page views every month, allowing our Company to reach more consumers than ever before.
· We completed significant acquisitions adjacent to the markets in which we have major operations. We operate in large and important markets and our brands are the bedrock of the communities they serve. We acquired The San Diego Union-Tribune and its nine community weeklies and related digital properties, forming the California News Group, which also includes the Los Angeles Times. Earlier, we acquired 38 suburban-Chicago daily and weekly titles, which are now fully integrated into the Chicago Tribune Media Group portfolio. The California and Illinois acquisitions are in addition to others we completed in Maryland and in Connecticut prior to our spin.
While there is still much work to be done in the year ahead, with your commitment and expertise we will continue to extend the influence of our brands.
The introduction of new platforms presents opportunities for us to deepen our connections to consumers and marketing partners, and we have the visionaries in place to help us achieve these goals.
Together, we are building something extraordinary at Tribune Publishing, and our story has only just begun. Here is to another successful year.
All my best –
Jack
