Tribune Co. chief talks about print decline

Tribune Co. chief Sam Zell said that the company's broadcasting group is performing better than expected, according to David Goetzl today at Mediapost.com

"This was in sharp contrast to the outlook he painted for the publishing business, where 'revenue trends ... are significantly worse than we expected,' resulting in a major hit. In the first quarter--final results have not been reported yet--print ad dollars are expected to fall by double digits, compared to the same period a year ago."

Goetzl writes that the main problem is the loss of classified ad dollars to the Internet, with papers in Florida contributing most to the decline.

Since taking over the company, Zell has focused on keeping everything together and maintaining the company's existing portfolio, but his tune has now changed. "The significant erosion in the first quarter has certainly put that plan into some question. We are forced to consider the possible divestiture of some of our assets."

Read the entire article here.