MEDIA & MARKETING:Recently-departed head of Thomas Crosbie Holdings Anthony Dinan led group on radio and newspaper buying spree
IT’S THE end of an era this week at Thomas Crosbie Holdings with the retirement of managing director Anthony Dinan, who was responsible for transforming the publisher of two Cork newspapers into a diversified media group. Holiday entitlement allowed Dinan to leave on Tuesday instead of staying on until the end of the month.
Dinan's sudden departure has surprised some observers. He says he is retiring so that he has more time to do the things he enjoys outside work. The son of a former Cork Examinerprinter, Dinan joined the company straight out of school and took over as TCH managing director in 1992.
Dinan led the company on a buying spree of newspaper titles and radio stations. He also expanded the group into Northern Ireland and Britain with the purchase of the Newry Democratin 1995 and the Irish Postin 2003. In addition, Dinan oversaw the attempt by the Cork Examinerto expand outside Munster by rebranding as the Irish Examiner.
Like all media concerns, TCH has been feeling the effects of the recession. Filed accounts for 2008 show turnover declining 6 per cent to €106 million and operating profit falling from €12.8 million to €5.6 million. The group also took a €5.4 million writedown on investments and the bottom line showed a €2.7 million net loss compared with a €10.8 million net profit the year before.
Despite the loss, dividends paid to shareholders, members of the Crosbie family, were raised from €3.2 million to €3.8 million. Dinan (62) insists that the group is well positioned to ride out the downturn.
“It’s very tough and last year was very difficult but there is an opportunity to come out of this recession stronger,” he says. “We have 676 people working in the group and that’s 122 less than we had two years ago.
“By and large most of those reductions have been voluntary. We have been very careful where at all possible not to cut editorial costs. The last two things I would want to cut at any time would be marketing and editorial.”
TCH's regional titles include Waterford News & Star, the Western People, Sligo Weekenderand the Nationalist."The national newspaper market is very crowded and difficult," he says. "But I think there is a very good future for local and regional titles. In the era of the iPhone and iPad, it will be easier to sell printed copies of local newspapers than national newspapers."
TCH's strategy of rebranding the Cork Examinerto broaden its appeal nationally is still a work in progress. Says Dinan: "Of course we would have liked to have seen more circulation for the Irish Examineroutside Munster. But perception is always a problem and a lot of people are also reading more online."
TCH has had modest success in the online arena, with two non-newspaper websites, recruitireland.ie and Motornet.ie. In Dinan’s view, a huge issue for privately owned online news service providers is competition from RTÉ, which benefits from the licence fee subsidy.
“RTÉ does a very good job but a balance needs to be struck. One way to solve the problem would be putting a cap on RTÉ’s advertising income.”
Of the media purchases that gave him the most satisfaction, Dinan singles out the Sunday Business Post, which TCH bought for €10 million for in 2002. As part of that deal, Dinan received a stake in the Post, which he sold back to TCH five years ago. His purchase of the Western Peoplein 1995 also stands out because it was Dinan's first acquisition.
He says: “The first acquisition was the biggest step. You would wonder if we had pushed the boat out more in the 1980s would we be farther down the road at this stage. But you’ve got to pace what you do to suit the people you are dealing with. TCH is 169 years old this year and the older an organisation, the harder it is to change.”
Dinan acknowledges that the Crosbie family – there are four on the TCH board – granted him leeway to pursue the growth by acquisition strategy. His successor faces a period of squeezing the assets, reducing the group’s net debt of €27 million and plugging the €12 million deficit in the pension fund.
“What is important in a family business is that when the family decides to step back, they distinguish between family ownership and family management,” says Dinan. “You may own the organisation but if you ask somebody to manage the business for you, you have got to let them get on with it.”
