Asked, during last year’s purchase of Tribune , what he had spotted about newspapers that others had missed, Sam Zell said: “I don’t think I could identify anything in specifics. I just think that historically I have found that when I influence a company... it produces results.”

Mr Zell’s hunch that he could find a better business model has been defeated by the $8.2bn debt he piled on Tribune. But analysts and executives believe some of the measures he took there – willingly or reluctantly – will be copied around the news industry.