Tribune Publishing Changes Name to Tronc

Tribune Publishing Co., the Chicago-based media company that owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and San Diego Union Tribune, announced Thursday that it’s changing its name to tronc Inc., an abbreviated version of tribune online content. The new name also represents its new focus, Tribune said. Tronc will become “a content curation and monetization company focused on creating and distributing premium, verified content across all channels,” the company said in a statement. Other media outlets reacted to the name change with jokes, rhymes, plays on words and just plain shock. “Tribune Publishing renames itself — try not to laugh,” read a New York Post headline. “Tribune Publishing could not have picked a worse name for its rebranding,” tweeted the Huffington Post. Philadelphia Daily News and Inquirer columnist Ellen Gray tweeted, “As a legacy media person myself, I hate to say it, but if I had a pet dinosaur, I’d probably name it #tronc, too.” The name change will take effect June 20, the same day Tribune expects its common stock to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market – where some of the top publicly-traded media and technology companies trade – under the new ticker symbol TRNC. Currently, Tribune stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange as TPUB. Tribune’s new name is part of a larger strategy based on technology and led by Chairman Michael Ferro, a Chicago tech entrepreneur. Tronc plans to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to make content more personal to users. Tribune also said it will make the company more profitable, and the new approach has already attracted $114 million in growth capital, according to Ferro. Tribune’s strategy and rebranding comes on the heels of a hostile takeover attempt by publisher Gannett Co. Inc. Gannett initially offered $12.25 a share and then $15 a share. Tribune maintains that Tribune shares are worth more than Gannett’s most recent proposal. “We have a clear strategic plan in place to transform Tribune Publishing, and we remain focused on executing against that plan in order to create value for all shareholders and other stakeholders,” the company said in a statement.