Whether Disney counts on this value in retaining Capital Cities' newspapers remains to be seen, but the entertainment giant's presence draws the newspaper industry one step deeper into the fold of burgeoning multimedia companies. As competitors like Warner Bros. used mergers to bulk up on delivery systems, Eisner demurred, preaching that content would always be king. But its previously stated goal of adding properties in news, information and related fields enables Gannett to hedge its bets by keeping a hand in a broad array of potential delivery systems. Gambling represents a potent metaphor for setting strategy in the multimedia environment. But now, where fiber optics have been laid, cable is being looked at as the ultimate delivery mechanism.
Newspapers face equal uncertainty.
Smaller bets, however, often prove attractive to diversified media companies with deep roots in the newspaper business. Cox also aims to create electronic-service synergy among its newspapers. Piggybacking enhanced Web services developed by its larger papers onto the on-line services of its smaller operations could make those smaller operations more diverse and attractive. The Olympic Web site could also prove a testing ground for synergy between broadcast and newspapers. Some observers see the local news franchise of newspapers as an unassailable rock-bottom asset.