Where Real Estate meets Media

Sam Zell buys the Tribune group of media assets? You bet. Or would you? Well, Zell is. The man well known for recognizing opportunity in failing businesses sees something many do not recognize in traditional media. And, he knows real estate. He took millions of square feet of "see-through" commercial buildings and turned them into holdings worth billions of dollars.

But what does he see in the Tribune group? Could it be millions of captive consumer eyeballs looking for change? Or maybe strong brands that stand for content distribution looking for a new and more effective ways to communicate? Mr. Zell has taken big risks in his time, but he is most known for being able to carefully measure risk. He is certainly someone to watch and is anything but a fool.

And meanwhile back at the newspapers, there are a lot of nervous folks wondering what's next. Here's a clue. At a past Inman Connect conference, Zell spoke and made a comment that illustrated what he thought of himself in most business situations. I will never forget when he answered a question from the audience about becoming an extinct business person in the face of technology. He paused and replied, "I come here today as nothing more than a lighthouse in the sea of mental masturbation." You go Sam!

--Ken Jenny, TranCen

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