By: Tony Case Tribune Co. Continues Media Convergence Strategy
(Mediaweek) In the latest cross-media convergence, Tribune Co.'s
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel is teaming with WXEL, the National
Public Radio affiliate in nearby West Palm Beach, to produce local
news broadcasts every weekday. Five-minute updates airing twice an
hour each morning and an extended, 15-minute noon program will be
jointly produced by the newspaper and radio staffs beginning May
23.
The partnership 'offers listeners the depth of coverage they can
find in a newspaper and the convenience that comes from radio,'
said Sun-Sentinel President/Publisher Bob Gremillion. 'As media
continue to fragment, it's advantageous for us to have our
journalism distributed in more of those fragments.'
While such linkages have become commonplace, WXEL President/CEO
Jerry Carr said this was the first marriage between a daily and an
NPR-affiliated station he'd heard of. He said his station, which
has a classical format and previously had no local news report,
negotiated with the paper for over a year. WXEL will sell
advertising around the broadcasts.
Sun-Sentinel VP/Editor Earl Maucker said the paper hired a deputy
managing editor/electronic publishing to oversee the WXEL
productions and the paper's other cross-media enterprises.
Both the Sun-Sentinel and corporate parent have been pioneers in
media convergence. The Fort Lauderdale paper already teams with
Miami's CBS station, WFOR, Palm Beach's NBC affiliate, WPTV, and
local Clear Channel radio stations. Tribune's other dailies,
including the Chicago Tribune and The Orlando Sentinel, have formed
similar local alliances. Gremillion said the company expects to
forge further pacts through its newly acquired Times Mirror
properties.
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