"And newspapers continue to be profitable, often more so than other industries. The 12 major public newspaper companies in the United States posted an average operating margin last year for their newspapers of almost 21 percent, according to Goldman Sachs, with Gannett and E.W. Scripps at the top with close to 30 percent each, and Dow Jones at the bottom with 9 percent. The New York Times Company's margin was 16 percent and that of the Tribune Company almost 18 percent."

These margins are for the newspapers only, not anything else.  So if we believe this, the Tribune Co. isn't exactly bleeding cash from Chicago Tribune, or even from the Los Angeles Times or any of its other papers.  And the Crain's article gives most of the credit to the percentage net income drop of 82% to the $1 billion judgment in tax court, which would be expected to hit overall profit margins hard and decrease share worth.

It appears that the Trib Co. is reacting like any corporation that is seeing its shares drop in value would, but it doesn't look like the newspapers are the main reason for the drop, nor does selling the Cubs look like the way to remedy the situation.  Not engaging in illegal tax operations would be a good start.

Matt

Bring on the Cuban era!

Say what you will about the man, but he pays money to put good players on the field for his fans - and given the Cubs' HUGE following, and the fact money generally, though not always, does more to deliver a winning record in baseball than in other sports, and you have a recipe for a big free agent spending blitz, improvements to Wrigley, happier players, pushing for more night games, etc.

I say bring it on.  The Trib needs to get out of both owning and covering the Cubs, and we fans deserve an owner as passionate as we are.

http://www.google.com/maps?hl=en&hs=Vr9&lr=&c2coff=1&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mo zilla:en-US:official&q=dunham+park&near=Chicago,+IL&sa=X&oi=localr&cid=41850000, -87650000,6465595604201046996&li=lmd&z=3

True, the existing streets that border the property are narrow and old -- but if the entire parcel was opened up, streets that border the area would obviously, be rebuilt -- It's not that much worse than the current congestion of Wrigley Field - of course, without the existing nearby "L." But that's a huge parcel of land -- someday, it will be developed. What if a 'modern' Wrigley Field is needed? I'm not suggesting that happen -- but even Yankee Stadium is going to be replaced.

I'm not sure why the poster mentioned "Harlem & North." I was thinking perhaps he was referring to this open land - and not that tightly congested urban area, which would mean -- clearing all of that away, which is residential and commercial. Not at all a good location for anything such as a ballpark, let alone all the negatives that would arise from such a project -- Chicago's version of Chavez Ravine?  (I attended Triton College just west of that area, so I'm familiar with the H & N neighborhood)

I much prefer the Trib, A locally based multi billion dollar
company that gives the baseball people a free hand WITHIN
a set budget to run the team.

And if anyone at the Trib wants to know why they have
financial issues, try the programming on WGN. If I see one
more promo for DaVinci's Inquest I am going to puke
WGN runs promos for this SEVEN YEAR OLD 2nd rate
TV series  ENDLESSLY prusumably thinking it will compete
with the C.S.I shows. Seriously if the Trib wants higher profits
better WGN programming would be a way to start

Jessica

The problem is, as you note, the Trib measures success WITHIN a budget.  There's no incentive placed on WINNING.

A Mark Cuban or a Patrick Ryan, who would own the team as a hobby, would ONLY care about winning.  Good owners are ones who want to feed their ego, but remain hands off.

The Trib is hands off, but has no ego.  Therefore, they are a bad owner.

( This ends the thread for me as it is too nonsensical to continue)

As we are all fans of probably the most popular baseball team in the nation (remember 03 Yankees-Red Sox series was pushed out of primetime by the Cubs-Marlins) we sometimes overvalue our team. Yes, the Cubs franchise is a large source of revenue for the Trib. But at the same time it has a lot of overhead. I'm not going to guess what the daily operating expenses are for 82 games played at Wrigley but I'm sure it's a hefty amount. Not to mention ever increasing player salaries, security costs, marketing, advertising, and repair costs for a ballpark that is falling apart. (Don't kid yourself, it is falling apart.) Required structural repairs for the park will likely exceed $200 million over the next few years.

The Cubs are NOT a core asset of the Tribune Company. We associate the Trib with the Cubs because we live the Chicago area. It is a multimedia company FIRST. The Trib owns newspapers, TV and radio station across the nation in virtually every state. Or has exposure in every state.

WGN TV or radio will not go under if the Cubs are not broadcast on that channel. In case you haven't noticed, they only broadcast about 60-70 games a year on WGN and it has been decreasing steadily over the past few years.

Though the newspaper is becoming more outdated it is far from dead. A lot of people over the age of 35 still buy a lot of magazines and newspapers. (That's more than half of the US population.)

I hope they do sell the team - hopefully to Mark Cuban or someone else that is just as interested in owning the team and turning it into a winner.

If the Trib does sell the team and the new owner deems Wrigley too costly to keep up, so be it. The ballbark is the best in baseball (maybe all of pro sports) but I want the World Series championships more than the ivy.

It is too costly nowadays for corporations to own a pro sports team. It's not like it was 30+ years ago - before my time.

Twice in my lifetime I saw them advance to the NLCS and have to win only ONE of three games for the National League Pennant. Both times they choked. I hope the trib sells. It would be the best news for Cubs nation in a long time.    

Going after the best free agents and jacking the payroll up won't gaurantee a championship but it greatly increases your chances. More so in baseball than any other sport. There's a reason the Red Sox, Yankees, and Braves are in the post season almost every year.

The Trib puts more money into the park, than the team.

No Ego. No Championships.