Tronc is getting a rebrand back to Tribune Publishing

In with Tribune Publishing, out with ‘tronc’

For two years, the Chicago Tribune awkwardly wore its made-up moniker ‘tronc.’ Word now is that it’s leaving that name behind - along with its iconic digs. | Getty Images

What’s old is new again.

In June 2016, Tribune Publishing – which owns the Chicago Tribune – told the world it was rebranding as a digital-first company known as tronc (which we were told stood for Tribune Online Content). It seems no one liked the name, except possibly ex-chairman Michael Ferro.

Now, the New York Post is reporting that “Tronc finally realizes it has a stupid name.”

The paper quotes a tronc insider, “The board actually approved the name change a month ago, but was waiting for the completion of the California deal.”

That is, the completion of the sale of the Los Angeles Times and other papers in California to billionaire Patrick Soon Shiong. The $500 million deal was reportedly final on Monday.

The only question remaining is …. what took so long? (HBO’s John Oliver makes his way to his blistering critique of tronc approx. 10 minutes in.)

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