Hartford Courant and TV stations to merge operations

Posted by Simon Day on March 31, 2009 at 1:17 PM

Tribune Co. today announced the joint operation of the Hartford Courant and Hartford television stations WTIC-TV and WTXX-TV, beginning later this year, a press release posted by Fox Business announced. The media combination will be headed by Richard Graziano, senior vice president and general manager of WTIC-TV and WTXX-TV. He has been made Courant publisher, effective immediately.

"This is the future of media," Randy Michaels, Tribune's chief operating officer, stated in the press release. "Whether in print, over the air, or online - the delivery mechanism isn't as important as the unique, rich nature of the content provided. Bringing these media properties together will enable us to bring more resources to our news coverage, improving and expanding what we can offer readers, viewers and advertisers in the area."

WTIC-TV and WTXX-TV will broadcast from a yet to be built studio in the Courant's newsroom. Construction is set to get under way during the summer. WTIC-TV will also offer a larger news output, with an additional two half-hour segments at noon and at 6 p.m.

The Courant, the oldest continually published newspaper in the United States, has a readership of more than 800,000 every week across its print and online publications. Meanwhile, WTIC-TV and WTXX-TV are Hartford-only stations that source their own local news from the city.

Tribune hopes the merger will also create more advertising revenue, as it allows advertisers to reach print, television and online outlets in one transaction.