THE SUNDAY TRIBUNE

The decision to pull the plug on the Sunday Tribune after decades of losses, may have more significance than most for Ireland’s political classes than many other closures (or threatened closures in this case as a stay of execution is still pending). The raison d’etre for the survival of the newspaper over the years was its value to the Independent group as a bulwark against the foreign predators in The Sunday Times and Associated Newspapers (INM) in the form of The Mail on Sunday.

As The Sunday Business Post analysis piece on its likely demise details, the Trib’s death notice is likely a result of the group’s debt-for-equity deal whereby Independent Newspapers now has to satisfy bondholders to an unprecedented degree – these are the people who are now really running the company.

“Even during the boom years, the Tribune failed to turn a profit, and sources at INM have said that the closure will result in much welcomed additional cash of €2.5-€3m for the group,” the article said.