The Tragedy Formerly Known As Tribune Publishing Is Now 'Tronc'
By Rachel Cromidas in News on Jun 2, 2016 9:19PM
The Tribune Publishing company is not recreating any classic sci-fi films (that we know of) but it will be going by a new moniker—"tronc"—from here on out.
The company, which publishes the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, among other news outlets, sent a memo out to staffers Thursday explaining the change, accompanied by a new logo that may or may not depict the future dismantling of the historic Tribune Tower brick by storied brick. It's a "transformative" step for the "content curation and monetization company," according to the memo, which is now named like a Transformers robot.
Media Twitter leapt at the chance to mock (trounce?) the new name, which may or may not ironically mean "tip jar" in English, may or may not be the sound journalists' morale makes when it hits rock-bottom, and also may or may not portend the company's dark, dark future. Until we acquire a decoder to Michael Ferro's feverish corporate-speak, we can't say for sure.
Below are some of our favorite Tweets that came out on the heels of the news; you can also check out more of our favorite reactions here:
Yo @ColonelTribune, ya'll up in Tronc Tower now?https://t.co/cqNPZx3i2e pic.twitter.com/gubP66sUnE
— Ryan Smith (@RyanSmithWriter) June 2, 2016
My old employer, Tribune Co, is changing its name to Tronc, Inc. pic.twitter.com/Mu6zi2bMwx
— Mo Ryan (@moryan) June 2, 2016
Tronc WAS my safe word
— Gabriella Paiella (@GMPaiella) June 2, 2016
tfw you realize you now work for Tronc pic.twitter.com/7z0bhg84AJ
— Seth Fiegerman (@sfiegerman) June 2, 2016
if somebody said "tronc" out loud to me my first reaction would be to jab them with an epipen
— Dollars Horton (@crushingbort) June 2, 2016
Tronc means "a tip jar". In English. https://t.co/FxybLX6zOH
— Scott Klein (@kleinmatic) June 2, 2016
YES. New Tronc corporate mascot. https://t.co/Tep91AI92V
— Peter Frost (@peterfrost) June 2, 2016