Don't laugh too hard at tronc: Yes, it's a dumb name -- but the grim outlook for journalism is no laughing matter

Well, that sure got weird, didn't it? Tribune's takeover of what used to be called Times-Mirror was messy when it started, a decade and a half ago, and has gotten worse every few years: This is the company, after all, that took over several great newspapers, crowed about "synergy," and made a few legendary editors so uncomfortable that they left their posts. And they sold their papers to Sam Zell, who had no background in newspapers and made an even bigger mess of things before filing for Chapter 11. Last fall, the company put Tribune Tower, where its original newspaper is based, up for sale. But now Tribune has a new trick: It has renamed itself tronc – a term that means, in French, "poor box," and if modulated to "trunk," something worse. According to Tribune's current chair, Michael Ferro – who was invited onto the board by former CEO Jack Griffin, whom he fired -- this is a bold step into the future.