CHICAGO, May 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Tribune Company executives today reviewed financial performance and business strategy at the company's annual shareholders' meeting in Chicago.
"As the number of national advertising options increases," said Dennis FitzSimons, Tribune chairman, president and chief executive officer, "the ability of our local newspapers and television stations to deliver large local audiences remains a distinct advantage and a solid foundation for growth."
FitzSimons pointed to the company's success on the Internet and said Tribune would continue growing its interactive businesses. "In the first quarter of 2006, our collection of newspaper and other websites drew an average of nearly 15 million unique visitors per month -- up 32 percent. Revenues are growing, too. In 2006, interactive will represent over 6 percent of publishing ad revenues. Over the next three years we intend to double that number to 12 percent."
Don Grenesko, Tribune chief financial officer, reviewed the company's financial performance and highlighted the redeployment of capital resources to areas that generate the most revenue. "Improving our cost structure in certain areas is enabling us to invest in new products and technology that will generate top line growth," he said.
The meeting also honored the efforts of Tribune journalists and employees, paying particular tribute to the news coverage provided during last fall's devastating hurricanes. "When Katrina, Rita, and Wilma ravaged Florida and the Gulf Coast, our employees did an extraordinary job under the worst of circumstances," said FitzSimons. He thanked employees for their dedication and sacrifice during the storms, and recognized the staff of WGNO-TV in New Orleans for keeping the community informed in the aftermath of the hurricane.
The company also announced the winners of its highest honors, the Tribune Management Award and Tribune Values Award at the meeting.
-- Tribune Management Award -- Earl Maucker, senior vice president and
editor of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, for his leadership in
helping to strengthen the newspaper's relationships with its readers
through solid, innovative journalism.
-- Tribune Values Award -- A nine-person team from the Los Angeles Times
and Tribune Interactive responsible for creating and launching
TheEnvelope.com, a new entertainment news and information site.
Team members included: Rob Barrett, general manager of the Times
interactive group; Richard Benjamin, Tribune Interactive/technology
team; Juliana Jaoudi, Times managing director/sales and marketing;
Jason Oberfest, Times director/product strategy; Scott Robson,
executive producer/Tribune Interactive; Joel Sappell, Times executive
editor/multimedia; Mark Sennott, Tribune Interactive/technology team;
Clint Stephenson, art director/Tribune Interactive; and Mickie
Sullivan, Times director/entertainment advertising.
In other business at the meeting, shareholders re-elected Tribune board members Betsy Holden, Robert Morrison, William Stinehart, and Dennis FitzSimons to three-year terms. Shareholders also ratified the selection of PricewaterhouseCoopers as the company's independent accountants for 2006. Shareholders defeated a proposal requiring board members to be elected annually.
At its regularly scheduled meeting earlier in the day, Tribune's board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $.18 per share on common stock of the company. The dividend will be paid on June 8, 2006 to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 25, 2006.
The board also elected Michael Silver vice president/corporate development. Since joining Tribune in 1976 as a reporter, Silver has served in a variety of positions in publishing and broadcasting with the company. He was most recently director/emerging technologies for the development group, and will continue to be responsible for evaluating business opportunities that cut across all lines of Tribune's businesses.
TRIBUNE is one of the country's top media companies, operating businesses in publishing and broadcasting. It reaches more than 80 percent of U.S. households and is the only media organization with newspapers, television stations and websites in the nation's top three markets. In publishing, Tribune operates 11 leading daily newspapers including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Newsday, plus a wide range of targeted publications such as Spanish-language Hoy. The company's broadcasting group operates 26 television stations, Superstation WGN on national cable, Chicago's WGN-AM and the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Popular news and information websites complement Tribune's print and broadcast properties and extend the company's nationwide audience.
