Things we read
The New Yorker
The New York Times
Del.icio.us
Mediapost.com
Buzzmachine
Art Forum
Techcrunch
PaidContent.org
The Philadelphia Inquirer

Today, a new American generation is reaching adulthood having lived their entire lives with computers as their primary information medium.

With the pervasiveness of broadband and mobile infrastructures, the final shift to ubiquitous online media will be complete within five years. The result will not be an abandonment of print, as some have feared, but rather a full appreciation of content distribution centered on the individual consumer’s experience.  Each consumer will, of course, control his content completely, whether through his print choices or his online usage. The consumer will also control when he receives the content. The shared news experience—the moment when the nation stops to read about or watch a particular event—will become increasingly rare and short-lived.

That is the revolution.

The absence of a dominant or shared news experience is currently destroying the value in old-world media, media that based their success on re-telling only certain stories on any given day. Today, a media outlet’s inability to respond to the demand for more individualized news and to provide content for a highly targeted marketplace is its death knell.

While in any revolution there are casualties of war, there also are opportunities. The opportunity is to combine the best of the old world with the best of the new world. Smaller, more-agile media can better adapt to the changing demands of readers and viewers. Rather than adapting a strategy that is based on trade-offs, as larger media have been forced to do, we will adopt what Professor Adam M. Brandenburger of N.Y.U.’s Stern School of Business calls a strategy of “trade-ons.” This strategy begins with the realization that we can create investment value by aligning the individualized needs of readers or viewers with the journalistic muscle of traditional media. In a dynamic and evolving media landscape, there are opportunities to develop new markets for content, as well as multiple roles for these media organizations to play in the new world.

By never forgetting to make the news personal, media can prosper in today’s world. (Media should be defined here not simply as newspapers and digital news outlets, but as those properties that provide support to traditional media and those that provide technological advances that will allow information and entertainment to be delivered across all platforms.)  By placing the consumer at the core of our investment philosophy, we can provide a deep well of information, data, video, entertainment, fonts, and technology for select consumers in niche markets. The compelling business proposition is, in fact, the compelling story.  By keeping this story at the heart of our investment philosophy, we can drive growth and distinguish the investment. By further recognizing the opportunities to create connections among these properties as we build our portfolio, we can further accelerate growth.

 
Investment Vision:

• to identify and buy media properties whose strength rests in a relationship with a core audience that is based on trust and a journalistic code of ethics;
• to create an array of additional products and databases designed to meet the emerging needs of the core audience, an audience with a direct relationship with the media property based on need;
• to maintain a close tie to the core audience in order to allow the media property to evolve with the community it serves by driving change through creative, journalistically sound publications, websites, databases, newsletters, partnerships, business outsourcing and more.
• and to actively invest in properties that can provide technological advances that allow information and entertainment to be delivered across multiple platforms, as well as in properties that allow for management of advertising for traditional and non-traditional media outlets.

1. They should be journalistically sound properties with underutilized assets that demonstrate—or have the power to demonstrate—the ability to publish distinct online publications, services and products in addition to print or heritage publications.
2. They should have management teams that recognize journalistic values and ethics and demonstrate an ability to manage talent and creativity to create distinctive content.
3. They should be niche publications with clear ties to specific communities that have allowed the property to be somewhat buffeted by the powerful forces that have eroded traditional media.
4. They should be technologically innovative properties that hold the promise to team with media firms to deliver information, data or entertainment to target audiences.

Properties that generally meet these broad criteria can be commercialized across different platforms and even countries. It is important to note that Dubilier & Co. is not seeking print-only properties, as we believe that digital video will emerge as a dominant medium online. It is important to note that technological advances will play a role in how media is delivered to its core audience and we will be active investors in innovation with clear ties to an existing marketplace.

INDUSTRY REPUTATION AS ETHICAL LEADER: Anne Gordon's reputation and professional connections in the field of media give her a distinct advantage in identifying potential investment targets. Further, her ability to communicate with founders/managers about the world of media—to speak the language, if you will—and to help founders/managers with partnerships and connections will also prove to be an advantage in securing investments, even in a competitive situation.

DEEP INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE: Anne Gordon's direct participation in the targeted industry will provide an advantage in the due diligence process. With a strong knowledge of the underlying business model and connections with others in the industry to supplement the team, Dubilier & Co. has a competitive advantage when evaluating potential investments and management teams. Dubilier & Co. believes strongly in developing partnerships with management. Drawing on her years in the industry—both in management and as a working journalist who had to make fast, clear judgments of individuals daily—Anne Gordon will provide first-hand assessments of a potential management team’s abilities. This, in addition to the assessments of other industry colleagues, is an invaluable tool in making wise investment choices.

COLLECTIVE EXPERIENCE AND WIDE ARRAY OF STRENGTHS: Dubilier & Co.’s collective experience offers the portfolio company financial guidance, strategic positioning and access to a large network of professionals who can help achieve the stated business goal.  When we talk about Dubilier & Co., we talk about the firm’s heritage as fierce entrepreneurs. Martin Dubilier, our managing partner Michael Dubilier’s father, was a pioneer in private equity. His passion was the development of a true partnership with the managers of the companies in which he invested.  He made them owners so that every decision they made was personal. He made them fierce advocates for their companies and their futures.  Our passion for finding successful media investments is linked with Dubilier & Co.’s passion for transforming the lives of managers when these companies succeed.

ACTIVE PARTICIPATION: To achieve these goals, Dubilier & Co. principals will assume Board of Directors positions and assist   management with raising additional capital, if needed, formulating a strategy, executing that plan, strengthening management teams— in short, with whatever the portfolio company needs to succeed.  Each investment is considered on its individual merits, recognizing that each portfolio company will have its own particular set of challenges and opportunities. Dubilier & Co. acts according to each company’s needs.