Schurz to Revamp Broadcast, Newspaper Sites with Tribune Interactive

Tribune and Schurz will share news content online under a deal to revamp Schurz’s websites using Tribune Interactive’s technology platform, the companies said. Combining content syndication with the technology platform helped convince Schurz of the deal said Kerry Oslund, vice president of digital. “There are lots of technology deals to be had out there, but none of them truly involve content,” he said. “When Tribune brought content to the table, along with technology, it was a differentiator that was just unmatchable."

Tribune calls the platform “Power to the Producer” or P2P and it was developed to ease online content production and sharing abilities at Tribune’s own broadcast and newspaper properties, said Nick Cory, chief operating officer of Tribune Interactive. The system gives producers more flexibility in updating and manipulating the sites beyond the ability to share syndicated content, he said. “We've gotten out of writing code for a site, and into setting parameters that allow you to build a site."

Schurz’s 60 newspaper, TV and radio station sites will join those of Tribune and Local TV on the Tribune Interactive platform. The system has paid off for Local TV, said Steve Baron, Local TV vice president of interactive content. Page views and unique monthly visitors to its sites have increased steadily since signing on with the platform last year, he said.

Sites have access to any content that’s in the system, which handles rights clearances on its own, Cory said. “If I've created a photo gallery with 100 images in it, and if a market doesn’t subscribe to Getty Images, only 80 images show up,” he said. “We take care of some of the usage rights through the system.”