Who is GFR Media Group?

On the 14th and 15th of Septmeber both the El Nuevo Dia and Primera Hora announced the formation of GFR Media Group. As always, analyzing what was said (or not said), reveals interesting details about the new business. Instead of providing my own analysis this time, all I'm going to do is dissect their announcement from their own newspapers and ask the big questions.

Why is the new company name in English?

I'm sure it's nothing, right? Who knows? Maybe they couldn't find any good domains left for sale? I have been able to confirm that gfrmediagroup.com is registered to Apex Technologies, a subsidiary of Grupo Ferré Rangel.

Why would a media conglomerate split out just two pieces?

According to their website, the Grupo Ferré Rangel consists of El Nuevo Dia, Primera Hora, Advanced Graphic Printing (AGP), EDD Personalized Marketing, ellow, City View Plaza, Fundación Rangel Ferré, and APEX Technologies.

Aren't you already the biggest newspapers?

In each of the announcements, they point out: "El Grupo Ferré Rangel anunció hoy el nacimiento de GFR Media Group, la cual se convierte en la mayor empresa periodística de Puerto Rico." Essentially what they are saying is, even though we are already the biggest newspaper business in Puerto Rico, the combination of El Nuevo Dia and Primera Hora converts GFR Media Group into the largest newspaper business in Puerto Rico.

Why does the owner of a monopoly on island wide newspapers make a business change and explain it by saying that the change will convert them into the biggest newspaper?

Which platforms benefit from 24/7 news feed?

In all accounts about the formation of GFR Media Group, they report that "Además, se creará una agencia de noticias interna para generar contenidos 24/7 que nutran múltiples plataformas mediáticas." El Nuevo Dia and Primera Hora are already on the web, Facebook, and Twitter. What else could be considered a platform for 24/7 news?

Who is Fernando Samaniego?

As far as the rest of the leadership team for GFR Media Group, they announced that: "En tanto, Agustín Meizoso ocupa el puesto de Principal Oficial de Operaciones; Juan Mario Álvarez, el de Principal Oficial de Nuevos Negocios; y Fernando Samaniego, el de Principal Oficial Digital."

According to his website, Fernando is: "Fernando Samaniego is a forward-thinking, international new media strategist who uses his experience building and restructuring media companies, his passion for empowering highly qualified professionals, and his well-traveled, global perspective to grow projects and organizational cultures driven by vision, innovation and a focus on the bottom line." After a quick review of his website, why the address on his resume is Dubai? Also, why isn't he using his Twitter account?

He does appear to have some very interesting content on his blog. Especially pertinent are his posts on the future of media. I'll definitely be combing over his blog to see if it holds any clues on where GFR Media Group is headed.

Flickr Creative Commons Contributor: Juan Eduardo Donoso

GFR Media Group Formed to Manage El Nuevo Dia and Primera Hora

A new media company has been created to manage the two biggest newspapers in Puerto Rico as part of a restructuring move.

The editor of El Nuevo Dia and Primera Hora says both papers will continue to be published under the format of their current print and digital editions.

Maria Luisa Ferre Rangel said Wednesday that the sales, advertising, human resources and other departments at both papers will not undergo any changes either.

But she said an internal news agency will be created as part of the restructuring move to produce news 24 hours a day for unspecified local media sites.

Ferre will oversee operations at the newly created GFR Media Group. Newspaper officials said they would release more information Thursday.

Analysis

Considering the depression the Puerto Rico market has been in for the last 12 years, this new company might be an attempt to pull together the diverse assets of El Nuevo Dia and Primera Hora to consolidate their respective values. I've heard that the Ferre Rangel family has wanted to sell the papers for a long time.

On the other hand, I'd like to remind everyone of the stranglehold that this new company has on local advertising spending. With over 65% of the local ad spending, this new company has solid short term earnings potential.

We should also recall that GFR Media Group is deeply integrated in the advertising agency monopoly that has so far successfully stunted the growth of Internet marketing in Puerto Rico. Please remember that Puerto Rico is unlike the United States, where television is the leading beneficiary of advertising spending and Internet Marketing is > 9%. In Puerto Rico, Internet Marketing is not even it's own category, with < 1%. Of the Internet Marketing happening in Puerto Rico, I assure you, GFR Media Group has an even bigger percentage due to their collusion with the advertising community.

Conclusion

El Nuevo Dia has been aggressively trying to replace the revenue lost to the free online classified advertising web sites. Just within the last five years they have launched InfoPaginas.com, a printed telephone book, and an online e-store. If were running GFR Media Group, I would be very worried. They've been able to survive the declining revenues that have claimed many local newspapers, however, the outlook does not look good.

I don't believe the vise-like grip that the duopoly of GFR Media Group and the local advertising agencies can hold back the self-service, convenience, and cost-effectiveness of Internet Marketing. Once the Internet Marketing dam breaks, I believe GFR Media Group will bleed red ink like it's been shot in the femoral artery. So if I were running GFR Media Group, I would slap a ton of lipstick on this pig and sell it as quickly as possible.

Flickr Creative Commons Contributor: Travis Lawton