There’s a Viagra Triangle-like quality to the Tronc-Gannett romance—whose latest turn is that they’ve called the whole thing off.
But the other day, just when it looked like Tronc and Gannett would be walking out together, the deal fell apart. The Wall Street Journal explained that during the canoodling, Gannett shares fell 54 percent in value and two of its major lenders pulled out.
And what now? With Gannett out of his life—at least for now—could Ferro, if only to allay boredom, try to consolidate both major Chicago dailies under his command? After all, given the level of integration that already exists between the two papers—printing and distribution—a formal union that leaves the two newsrooms separate wouldn’t be a huge step. The Sun-Times Holdings board would want to consider it.
In other words, when we whisper in your ear about the wonderful life we’re going to have together, we’re blowing smoke.
