Cox selling Palm Beach Post, Austin American-Statesman

I think if it is with three days notice it was not voluntary.

 

These are "exciting times" ... What a crock of shit.

 

I wonder if they start cutting executives in Austin and West Palm Beach. That would improve the bottom line for potential buyers, and most if not all the executives are doomed, anyway, when a sale goes through.

 

Cox said they are not selling Dayton and Atlanta because they won broadcast properties in those cities. I think there are also emotional reasons. Cox started in Dayton and I think the Cox family are akin to royalty in Atlanta.

But Austin and Palm Beach are stand alone papers. I wonder what the future is for stand alone products. Will they be able to survive or will the economics force them into regional clusters?

 

It's going to be very, very challenging for larger papers to remain as standalone entities. The struggles of the Tampa Bay Times are telling.

 

It's so exciting to know the newspaper is undergoing major changes, one of which may include sending your ass to the unemployment line. Exciting times!

 

A regional cluster is almost a given with Palm Beach. Already a lot of speculation here that Tronc will buy Palm Beach, pair it with the Sun Sentinel, keep the Post as a pseud0-brand (separate nameplate, with tweaks in news coverage and story play) but combine the staffs and cut anywhere there's duplication in editorial departments and and on the business side. For instance, in sports, there currently are five Dolphins beat writers, three Heat beat writers, two U. of Miami writers, four high school writers and two columnists between the two papers. Not to mention separate sports editors and assistant sports editors. And don't forget that the Sun Sentinel already prints the Post in its Deerfield Beach facility.

And if Tronc isn't the buyer, the betting is that Gannett (owner of Treasure Coast and Florida Today to the north; Fort Myers and Naples to the west) will be.

 

Man, this seems right in Tronc's wheelhouse. Which would suck for a dozen or so reporters and some desk people.

 

Those proclamations from the executive suite are about as insensitive and tone-deaf as it gets. One person's "exciting times" are another person's misery and financial hardship. Try telling your kid that even though you're unemployed and can't afford Christmas gifts, it's OK because times are so exciting.

 

I understand the FCC is about to nix the TV-newspaper cross-ownership rules. Curious as to how it does (or doesn't) impact Austin or Palm Beach or any other sales of decent-sized papers.

 

I still think it will be very tempting for Tronc (owner of the Sun Sentinel) or Gannett (with the Treasure Coast properties) to try to buy PB Post at a bargain price. Companies often blab about synergy, but it might be legitimate there given geography and the overall area's affluence. The Sun Sentinel already sells and delivers the print edition in Palm Beach County.