Tribune Outlines Advantages of Local Mass Media at New York
Conference
Company President FitzSimons
highlights importance of Tribune’s newspapers, television
stations and interactive businesses working together
Advertising business
gradually improving
CHICAGO, October 1, 2002
-- Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB)
today reiterated its business strategy for long-term growth
at Communacopia XI, a media conference sponsored by Goldman
Sachs. President and Chief Operating Officer Dennis FitzSimons
highlighted Tribune’s local mass media strategy and
the advantages of the company’s newspapers, television
stations and interactive businesses working together.
"Advertisers need to reach consumers in
major markets, and that’s where Tribune has great franchises,
capable of delivering messages with impact," said FitzSimons.
"We also see tremendous value in owning multiple media
in a single market, giving us the opportunity to share content,
cross-sell and cross-promote," he continued. "In
our case, this involves both traditional and new media."
FitzSimons outlined several key initiatives
designed to build scale within Tribune’s markets. He
pointed to the recent acquisition of WTTV-TV in Indianapolis
as just one example. "This purchase creates our fourth
two-station cluster," said FitzSimons. "We have
similar operations in Seattle, Hartford and New Orleans. Our
experience is that in markets where we are operating two stations,
we can boost cash flow margins six to seven percent at each
over time."
Tribune’s Spanish-language newspaper
Hoy is another example of building scale within a
single market. Launched in New York three years ago as a compliment
to Newsday, Hoy now has a daily circulation
of 75,000. Tribune also operates Spanish-language newspapers
in Los Angeles, Chicago and Orlando.
Tribune expects to grow classified advertising
through its partnership with Knight Ridder in the online recruitment
business CareerBuilder. Later this month CareerBuilder will
introduce a new product called "FlexAds," an easy-to-post
integrated print and online listing that delivers tremendous
local market reach and value for employers.
FitzSimons said that while the advertising market remains
soft, business is gradually improving. "In newspapers,
both retail and national advertising showed sequential improvement
in September compared to August. And real estate and automotive
advertising picked up strength," said FitzSimons. "We
also had a very good month on the broadcast side - our markets
look very strong."
He stressed the company’s ability to
produce quality earnings, built on consistent free cash flow
and a strong balance sheet. "Overall, Tribune will deliver
more than $1.4 billion of operating cash flow this year, and
free cash flow of more than $650 million, an increase of about
15 percent over 2001- despite the recession," said FitzSimons.
The full text of Dennis FitzSimons’ remarks
at Communacopia is available at www.tribune.com.
:: :: ::
TRIBUNE (NYSE:
TRB) is one of the country’s premier media companies,
operating businesses in broadcasting, publishing and on the
Internet. It reaches more than 80 percent of U.S. households,
and is the only media company with television stations, newspapers
and Web sites in the nation’s top three markets. Tribune
media outlets include 24 television stations and national
“superstation” WGN-TV; 12 market-leading daily
newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune
and Newsday; and news and information Web sites in 18 of the
nation’s top 30 markets.
This press release contains certain comments
or forward-looking statements that are based largely on the
company’s current expectations and are subject to certain
risks, trends and uncertainties. Such comments and statements
should be understood in the context of Tribune's publicly
available reports filed with the SEC, including the most current
10-Q and 10-K that contain a discussion of various factors
that may affect the company's business. These factors could
cause actual future performance to differ materially from
current expectations.
Tribune Company is not responsible for updating the information
contained in this press release beyond the published date,
nor for changes made to this document by wire services or
Internet service providers. More information on Tribune is
available on the Internet at www.tribune.com.
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