Seriously, it was impossible to predict
June 18, 2018 4:12 PM Subscribe
From the Department of No One Could Possibly Have Foreseen this: Tronc finally realizes it has a stupid name (previously) (previouslier)
In the understatement of the day, "It supposedly stood for Tribune Online Content, but was widely ridiculed at the time of the announcement."
In the understatement of the day, "It supposedly stood for Tribune Online Content, but was widely ridiculed at the time of the announcement."
OR DID I?
posted by GuyZero at 4:26 PM on June 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by GuyZero at 4:26 PM on June 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm not so easily tronc'd
posted by GuyZero at 4:26 PM on June 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by GuyZero at 4:26 PM on June 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
New LA Times owner (and Tronc's 2nd largest stockholder) Patrick Soon-Shiong on NPR this morning:
"I hate the word Tronc, so I won't even call it Tronc."
posted by ryanshepard at 4:28 PM on June 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
"I hate the word Tronc, so I won't even call it Tronc."
posted by ryanshepard at 4:28 PM on June 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
i go back to that initial tronc thread so often for the high quality low brow hilarity. what a good.
posted by poffin boffin at 4:29 PM on June 18, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 4:29 PM on June 18, 2018 [14 favorites]
Well, the important thing is that the marketing consultants got paid.
posted by Apocryphon at 4:29 PM on June 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Apocryphon at 4:29 PM on June 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
Hey, the branding consultant got paid for it and will get paid again for the rebrand, so it's a win-win!
ON PREVIEW: Gaaah! Beaten to the joke!
posted by briank at 4:30 PM on June 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
ON PREVIEW: Gaaah! Beaten to the joke!
posted by briank at 4:30 PM on June 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
I used to work for the Burroughs computer company. It merge with Sperry Univac and the new, merged entity was named Unisys.
The day after the announcement, I was writing up a document that included the new company name. The spellchecker hit the name and suggested, "Did you mean anuses?" I had a good laugh imagining spellcheckers world-wide asking that question over and over.
posted by SPrintF at 4:39 PM on June 18, 2018 [37 favorites]
The day after the announcement, I was writing up a document that included the new company name. The spellchecker hit the name and suggested, "Did you mean anuses?" I had a good laugh imagining spellcheckers world-wide asking that question over and over.
posted by SPrintF at 4:39 PM on June 18, 2018 [37 favorites]
Tronc, one of the most lambasted corporate name changes of the digital era, is going to return to its original name, Tribune Publishing.
You can call yourself Industrial Totally Serious News Pressings Ltd. but I'm still going to start troncing like a madman whenever I hear your brand mentioned.
posted by Query at 4:46 PM on June 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
You can call yourself Industrial Totally Serious News Pressings Ltd. but I'm still going to start troncing like a madman whenever I hear your brand mentioned.
posted by Query at 4:46 PM on June 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
Of course this happens now that the name was finally growing on me. Time to embroider some hats:
Make Tribune Tronc Again
posted by droro at 4:48 PM on June 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
Make Tribune Tronc Again
posted by droro at 4:48 PM on June 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
TOO LATE! YOU ALREADY SOLD THE BUILDING.
posted by srboisvert at 4:51 PM on June 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by srboisvert at 4:51 PM on June 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
oh hi GuyZero. gwint gwint gwint gwint gwint gwint forever gwint
posted by gwint at 5:08 PM on June 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by gwint at 5:08 PM on June 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Tronc not have bad name! In language of Tronc's people, it mean "Blessed Gift of the Spirits"! Why you mock Tronc?
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 5:14 PM on June 18, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 5:14 PM on June 18, 2018 [25 favorites]
... tronc?
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 5:17 PM on June 18, 2018
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 5:17 PM on June 18, 2018
I suppose that was one option, but I would have preferred a doubling down along with a revised Black Eyed Peas song recording called My Homps
posted by Jon Mitchell at 5:17 PM on June 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Jon Mitchell at 5:17 PM on June 18, 2018 [9 favorites]
I'm sad.
I couldn't see the word "tronc" without imagining an angry goose: "TROOOOOONNNNNCCCCC!"
Now that's gone and I have no reason to pay attention to newspapers anymore.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 5:19 PM on June 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
I couldn't see the word "tronc" without imagining an angry goose: "TROOOOOONNNNNCCCCC!"
Now that's gone and I have no reason to pay attention to newspapers anymore.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 5:19 PM on June 18, 2018 [6 favorites]
I went back to the previouslier and I wanted symmetry from an early comment, so I'll just correct it here: "gwint mockt tronc"
And I still think Pac-Man goes "tronc tronc tronc," and it's fun to say
posted by Pronoiac at 5:21 PM on June 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
And I still think Pac-Man goes "tronc tronc tronc," and it's fun to say
posted by Pronoiac at 5:21 PM on June 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
Tronc sounds like a unix command. Like a nonstandard, supposedly better cron replacement.
posted by traveler_ at 5:29 PM on June 18, 2018 [24 favorites]
posted by traveler_ at 5:29 PM on June 18, 2018 [24 favorites]
I'd have made it an add-on to troff - tronc takes a formatting macro and produces a newspaper.
posted by GuyZero at 5:34 PM on June 18, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by GuyZero at 5:34 PM on June 18, 2018 [11 favorites]
Welcome to tron, a modern pure functional language that compiles to web assembly. To get started with the tron compiler 'tronc'...
posted by Pyry at 5:39 PM on June 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by Pyry at 5:39 PM on June 18, 2018 [8 favorites]
I'm happy they split off the Los Angeles Times, my old hometown paper, into a locally-owned entity under a "bio-tech billionaire" who seems like one of the least evil billionaires, and who, in his introduction to his readers, wrote:
I believe that fake news is the cancer of our times and social media the vehicles for metastasis. (read the whole thing; it's the most positive thing from a billionaire I've read in a long time)
But who do I really feel good for? The folks at CTron.
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:54 PM on June 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
I believe that fake news is the cancer of our times and social media the vehicles for metastasis. (read the whole thing; it's the most positive thing from a billionaire I've read in a long time)
But who do I really feel good for? The folks at CTron.
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:54 PM on June 18, 2018 [5 favorites]
But, but tronc is stronc...
posted by fallingbadgers at 5:55 PM on June 18, 2018
posted by fallingbadgers at 5:55 PM on June 18, 2018
RIP Tronc Dan.
posted by stannate at 6:10 PM on June 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by stannate at 6:10 PM on June 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Tronc? Wasn't that one of Eazma's minions?
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 6:14 PM on June 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 6:14 PM on June 18, 2018 [4 favorites]
It was cool and quirky when coke did this, but that was sugar water in the 1980s, while this was an obvious red flag for asshole at the helm.
posted by Fupped Duck at 6:24 PM on June 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Fupped Duck at 6:24 PM on June 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
Well, the important thing is that the marketing consultants got paid.
Were there marketing consultants? To me, this smells of one rich douchebag who thinks all his ideas are golden because, hey, he's rich, right? And nobody around him has ever had the balls to tell him that some of those ideas are actually really dumb.
posted by Naberius at 6:53 PM on June 18, 2018
Were there marketing consultants? To me, this smells of one rich douchebag who thinks all his ideas are golden because, hey, he's rich, right? And nobody around him has ever had the balls to tell him that some of those ideas are actually really dumb.
posted by Naberius at 6:53 PM on June 18, 2018
I have kept my LA Times subscription for years beyond my actual interest in receiving a daily newspaper, all in the name of supporting quality journalism. But goddamn every time I heard/saw the word Tronc I just wanted to cancel it and then go down and firebomb the offices. Thank god that era is over.
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:23 PM on June 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:23 PM on June 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Dang, now I can't call it the Tronic anymore.
posted by praemunire at 8:10 PM on June 18, 2018
posted by praemunire at 8:10 PM on June 18, 2018
Let me see that tro-on-onc
Baby
Tronc tronc tronc tronc tronc
posted by dismas at 8:42 PM on June 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
Baby
Tronc tronc tronc tronc tronc
posted by dismas at 8:42 PM on June 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
Soon to be renamed "Moland Springs".
posted by lkc at 10:32 PM on June 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by lkc at 10:32 PM on June 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
This is the only thing that made me laugh all day, so thank you.
posted by greermahoney at 12:30 AM on June 19, 2018
posted by greermahoney at 12:30 AM on June 19, 2018
In the UK (and elsewhere?) a tronc is a system for sharing tips among staff:
"A tronc is an arrangement with special tax status that is used to pool and distribute tips and service charges in hospitality. Tronc is a French word dating back to the wooden trunks that were installed in French churches to receive donations from visitors that were shared with the poor."
posted by fabius at 12:49 AM on June 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
"A tronc is an arrangement with special tax status that is used to pool and distribute tips and service charges in hospitality. Tronc is a French word dating back to the wooden trunks that were installed in French churches to receive donations from visitors that were shared with the poor."
posted by fabius at 12:49 AM on June 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
Oh, Christ, Poffin Boffin. Now I’m rereading that post and crying laughing.
“tronc: All the Noops that's Flort to Perndle.”
Crying. Laughing,
posted by greermahoney at 12:50 AM on June 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
“tronc: All the Noops that's Flort to Perndle.”
Crying. Laughing,
posted by greermahoney at 12:50 AM on June 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
Damn it, now I'm laughing at my desk. "All the Noops" is up there with Sbubby: Eef Freef.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:43 AM on June 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:43 AM on June 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
Ah the first thread was classic Why I Love Metafilter
what you gonna do with all that jonc
all that jonc inside your tronc
posted by like_neon at 3:35 AM on June 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
what you gonna do with all that jonc
all that jonc inside your tronc
posted by like_neon at 3:35 AM on June 19, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'd have made it an add-on to troff - tronc takes a formatting macro and produces a newspaper.
And the command should gradually produce worse and worse output every time it is executed until the user no longer cares and then it should ask for a subscription.
posted by srboisvert at 6:37 AM on June 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
O tronc, we barely knew ye!
posted by lilies.lilies at 9:01 AM on June 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by lilies.lilies at 9:01 AM on June 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
The best part about reading the old threads is some comment that makes me chortle and I go to favorite it, and I already had. tronc just keeps on giving!
posted by sldownard at 12:15 PM on June 19, 2018
posted by sldownard at 12:15 PM on June 19, 2018
My wife is employed by a newspaper with "Tribune" in the name, and it's been kind of a running joke to scream "TRONC!" any time their website is down or ther bosses screw something up with one of her stories. I'm pretty sure we'll be doing this for as long as she works as a reporter.
posted by tonycpsu at 12:21 PM on June 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 12:21 PM on June 19, 2018 [5 favorites]
Ah the first thread was classic Why I Love Metafilter
what you gonna do with all that jonc
all that jonc inside your tronc
I see that "My Homps" was summoned into being long before it manifested in my own brain.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 12:36 PM on June 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
what you gonna do with all that jonc
all that jonc inside your tronc
I see that "My Homps" was summoned into being long before it manifested in my own brain.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 12:36 PM on June 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
Now do IHOb.
posted by hypersloth at 1:41 PM on June 19, 2018
posted by hypersloth at 1:41 PM on June 19, 2018
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