Tribune’s troubles reflect old media in new age

Sam Diaz: Tribune, the parent company of news giant, such as The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection while it reorganizes. It's sad to see the nation's traditional news outlets struggle so much, but in all honesty, they largely have only themselves to blame. As they reorganize, they should rethink what they do and how they do it. For too long, news executives held tight to the traditional way of delivering news and generating revenue, shunning online-only platforms, such as blogs, social networks and microblogging as a way of reaching readers. When the floodgates of the blogosphere opened, the news media dismissed blogs as a fad. Nothing more than online journals for regular people. They were so very wrong. Slowly, traditional news outlets have been coming to terms with the power of the Internet. Not because they finally recognized the value, but because others recognized it before them. But is it too late for them? It doesn't have to be. I hope that companies like Tribune who employs some of the best professional journalists in the world, conduct themselves up, do some soul searching and come back with a business model that doesn't just conform to a new way of reaching readers, but instead comes up with new models that will put them back on top where they belong.