Tribune Publishing is changing its name to tronc, and everyone is making fun of it

Tribune Publishing company, the publisher of major big city newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune and LA Times, is changing the firm's name to tronc in a re-branding effort shifting the publisher to a more online focus.

"tronc, or tribune online content, captures the essence of the Company's mission," said the firm in a release.

"tronc pools the Company's leading media brands and leverages innovative technology to deliver personalized and interactive experiences to its 60 million monthly users."

The move comes after years of struggles for Tribune and the newspaper industry in general to capture readership moving to online media. In fact, in May, Tribune was the subject of a merger proposal from fellow newspaper publisher Gannett for roughly $860 million.

The move will also build on artificial intelligence technology to increase traffic to the Tribune's online content and complete a "transformation from a legacy news company to a technology and content company," according to the release.

The move also comes with an updated corporate look.

Immediately after the news, the online reaction was not particularly kind:

 

 

 

 

 

 The name change will go into effect on June 20 and the firm will switch it's publicly traded stock from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq under the ticker TRNC.