That "frozen at the wheel" phrase is from my esteemed professor from Chapel Hill, Phil Meyer, who is back in the news... being quoted by Reuters Business on the latest sign of uncertainty in the newspaper business -- a stock buy-back proposal at the Tribune Company.
Says Reuters:
"Analysts believe that Tribune's plan to buy back 25
percent of its shares -- a plan opposed by three influential
Tribune board members -- portends a management buyout, a
strategy some industry observers believe could benefit other
publishers, as well... The problem is that the most dramatic ideas for preserving
the business could hurt profits over the short term.
"'They're kind of frozen at the wheel because the money is
still coming in,' said Philip Meyer, a professor at the
University of North Carolina and author of 'The Vanishing
Newspaper: Saving Journalism in the Information Age.' "Nobody knows what they must do, and without a lot of
experimentation and a lot of trial and error, they won't find
out," Meyer said.
(If you associate the name "Tribune" with just the Chicago Tribune, its parent company has long been much more. It absorbed the former Los Angeles Times chain, which 25+ years ago acquired my employer, The Hartford Courant, as well as New York Newsday and other papers. Who Owns What lists Tribune as owning 14 newspapers, more than 30 broadcast and cable channels, various online projects... and the Chicago Cubs.)
I was pointed to Reuters' Tribune story by a weblog for this month's "summit conference" organized by the University of Massachusetts Media Giraffe Project. (The name has to do with media innovators who see "above the crowd.") Phil plans to be there, as do Washington correspondent Helen Thomas, podcasting pioneer Christopher Lydon, ChicagoCrime lord Adrian Holovaty, and dozens of journalists (on paper or pixels), teachers, technology savants and media watchers.
The events' links, blogs and wiki already have the "Help shape media and democracy" conversation underway.
More blogger comments from the conference at mgp2006 and
mediagiraffe
2:58:10 PM 
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