Still Going Ahead
The delayed $500 million sale of the Los Angeles Times is still happening, despite some unexpected complexities.
The sizable offer from Nant Capital, owned by medical industry billionaire Dr. Patrick SoonShiong, hasn't gone anywhere and financing isn't the problem, Justin Dearborn, chief executive officer of L. A. Times' parent company Tronc, said during a call with analysts. But he still doesn't know exactly when the deal will close.
“It's definitely not quarters,” Dearborn said when asked about a specific time frame on the sale. “Weeks to a month — I'm hopeful.”
He added that the delay is mainly due to the unexpected difficulty in separating the physical and technical operations of
The Times from Tronc's broader operations, noting the process has been “fairly complex.”
“There wasn't a due diligence period leading up to this transaction, so when we got down to the infrastructure of the company, it's taking some time to work through that,” Dearborn said. “I think we're close and I remain very positive on the transaction.”
When prodded further about the closing, Dearborn noted that the latest date for the deal to close is Aug. 7, per an initial agreement. “I don't envision it taking it that long, but it's complex...this wasn't bundled up and marketed,” Dearborn added. If the company had gone that route, it could have worked to have operations more or less separated before accepting an offer.
As for the pending sale of former Tronc chairman Michael Ferro's personal 25 percent stake in the company, equal to about 9 million shares, to McCormick Media, Dearborn said he's unaware of where that sale stands and that Tronc is “not involved in any way.”
Whether or not McCormick will take an active role with its shares also remains to be seen, as its purchase still needs regulatory approval, but Tronc appears out of the loop.
“I haven't had any discussions with anyone representing the buyer,” Dearborn said. “I assume they'll reach out to us when they retain the shares but they did not contact the company beforehand in any way.” — KALI HAYS is Fox, the parent company of FX, has the streaming rights. It also marks FX's first foray into news, although Fox is well-established in the industry and its news network is arguably the arbiter of the right-wing political agenda.
While “The Daily,” which surpassed 100 million total downloads last fall, operates more as a breakdown of major news developments hosted by The Times' Michael Barbaro and rotating staffers, “The Weekly” will be in the style of a docu-series focused on what goes into the paper's reporting on “one or two” stories during a given week.
“Our ambition with ‘The Weekly' is to bring the authority and excellence of New York Times journalism to the largest possible television audience,” Meredith Kopit Levien, The Times' chief operating officer, said in a statement.
Levien also made note of another, more specific, goal, saying the deal is intended “to make millions of people spend much more time with quality, original journalism.”
Assistant managing editor Sam Dolnick will oversee the show and added that “The
Times newsroom has the raw ingredients for must-watch TV.” Although many reporters and journalists spend a large portion of their time writing behind a computer, when not fielding phone calls and e-mails, Dolnick hinted at “on-the-ground reporting” for the show's focus.
The Times added in a statement that reporters will be on camera “chasing their stories,” and conducting interviews. “The Weekly” will not have a host, as the podcast does, and reporters are set to “act as guides” for the stories featured on the show.
“The whole idea for this show, what makes it unprecedented, is that
the layers that separate viewers from New York Times journalism will be eliminated,” The Times wrote, stressing that this show will be “different” from other TV news shows.
The paper declined to comment on the show or its distribution beyond the statement. But the new show is part of The Times' push to be more multimedia than ever and it touted plans for TV, movies, smartpeakers and data science initiatives at its recent NewFront presentation to advertisers.
Mark Thompson, The Times' president and chief executive officer, said last week that the paper is aiming to increase its subscriber base, the main source of revenue, three-fold to 10 million in the coming years, and getting the brand name out in the U.S. and abroad is at the center of this somewhat lofty goal. — K.H.