Tribune Publishing Re-Brands As Tronc, Hilarity Ensues

Tribune Publishing Co TPUB is one of the most iconic, not to mention oldest newspaper and print media publishing companies in the U.S., having been founded back in 1847.

A newspaper and print media company that's approximately 170 years naturally felt the need to re-brand itself to better adapt to the new age of technology where news is offered 24/7 online in various formats.

With that said, Tribune Publishing announced on Thursday it has decided to re-brand itself as "tronc" which is short for "tribune online content."

According to the company's press 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.

Investors can also buy shares of tronc on the Nasdaq stock exchange as the company will transfer its listing over from the New York exchange on June 20. The new issue will trade under the ticker symbol "TRNC."

It's okay to laugh at the name "tronc," at least according to The Verge, who presented a brief history on Tribune's original name and what it has now become:

"Tribune's name derived from the Roman officials whose job it was to protect average citizens from the unfair actions of patrician magistrates. Tronc, on the other hand, is the sound of a millennial falling down the stairs. (It is apparently a portmanteau of Tribune Online Content. The company styles it lowercase, because that's the way that teens are talking on Slack these days, but we are not about to be led down that path today!)"

And many Twitter users couldn't resist themselves.

If you wanted to signify the pathetic nasal honks of the last dying dinosaur, "tronc" would be a pretty good word.

— Quentin Hardy (@qhardy) June 2, 2016

"TRONC TRONC" is how Law and Order starts, right?

— Linda Holmes (@nprmonkeysee) June 2, 2016

the future of media pic.twitter.com/bvPkbOwDGD

— ♥︎ (@yurivictor) June 2, 2016