Tribune Co. (TRBCQ) will bring the operations of the Hartford Courant newspaper and two television stations together under one roof in Connecticut later this year as the company looks to trim costs amid a slump in advertising.
The combined entities will be led by Richard Graziano, general manager of the two television stations, WTIC-TV and WTXX-TV, who also takes over immediately as publisher of the Courant, the oldest continuously published U.S. newspaper. Steve Carver, Courant publisher since November 2006, will leave following a short transition period, Tribune said. Graziano, who has overseen Tribune's Hartford stations since 2005, called the move "a demonstration of our commitment to news and to downtown Hartford." Bringing the Courant and the television stations together will also create "a more efficient one-stop operation for print, broadcast and online ad sales." Chicago-based Tribune, the publisher of the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, filed for Chapter 11 protection late last year after it was unable to cover interest on bank debt it picked up as part of Sam Zell's takeover of the company. Following the move, WTIC-TV and WTXX-TV will begin broadcasting news from a studio in the Courant's newsroom, slated to begin construction later this summer. WTIC-TV also plans to expand its news offerings by adding half-hour broadcasts at noon and 6 p.m. WTIC-TV and WTXX-TV are the only TV stations remaining in Hartford that originate local news from the city, Tribune said. WTIC-TV has grown market share consistently over the last four years, and its 10 p.m. news is No. 1 with viewers, the company said. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "World News Now Discussion List" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/wnndl?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
