Just a day after Tribune, a week after Scripps, and a few months since Time Inc spun off from Time Warner, Gannett has announced that it too will spin off its print business. While announcing the purchase of cars.com, Gannet decided the time was right to put its publishing arm, including USA Today, into a separately run company. And while timing of the separation hasn't been announced, it simply confirms that broadcast and digital operations see no room in their 21st century companies for old fashioned print content, despite the potential value of its news gathering and future web subscription businesses.
So what happens post break up to these publishing companies? Do they themselves seek to merge together into few, bigger organizations, relying on economies of scale and fewer rivals to attain better market penetration? Or is it simply the first step in the eventual loss of these notable brands? One thing is for sure, more of these announcements will come.
