After announcing last week that it was selling all of its television and radio stations, Schurz Communications — which started in 1872 with the South Bend Tribune — is about to become a media company with a smaller stable, one built around cable companies and newspapers.
Yes, the company will be smaller without its broadcast properties, but it will also have a broader focus, according to Schurz’s chief executive.
Todd Schurz, the fifth generation of his family to manage the Mishawaka-based company, said newspapers and cable provide a foundation for growth, and Schurz Communications will continue primarily to be a media company. In fact, he said the publishing and cable arms of his company share a similar drive to find new ways to appeal to subscribers and members, instead of just relying on advertising.
But the company will also look to diversify — to acquire other businesses, invest in startups and new technologies, and look for opportunities inside and outside the media realm.
“The only business today is media, and I see media being the core business for the foreseeable future,” Schurz said. “But I also don’t think it will be the only business.”
Schurz plans to make the company stronger for the next generation of his family, and to do so without abandoning what he sees as most important: community journalism. Despite the revenue struggles that a new digital age has brought to media outlets, especially newspapers, Schurz said he still believes in the power of local news.
“If I could choose the legacy that I’d love our company to have, it would be for us to be the one that discovers the sustainable business model for community journalism in the digital age,” he said. “It could mean many different things, but I think the traditional role of the newspaper in its community is important. It helps define the community, it certainly helps inform the community, it helps bring the community together, it helps enable commerce in the community, it helps hold government accountable."