The it@cork Blog

My guest on the show today is Anthony Dinan, Anthony is the Group managing Director of Thomas Crosbie Holdings. In the interview we discussed TCH’s recent acquisitions, their move out of Academy Street and how the online news sites are affecting their business.

This is a nice short interview as Anthony is one of the most concise interviewees I have yet had the pleasure of conversing with – having said that, for all his brevity, Anthony managed to pack a lot of information into the 19 minute interview!

Here is the list of the questions I asked Anthony in the course of the interview and the times in the interview at which I asked them (in case you wish to fast forward to a particular question):

Who is Anthony Dinan – what is your background and how did you get to be Group Managing Director of Thomas Crosbie Holdings? – 0:15

Can you talk a bit about TCH – what it does? – 1:29

Is TCH following a strategy of going for more local media? – 2:29

You mentioned the two websites (motornet.ie and recruitireland.com) – how do they fit into your strategy? – 3:17

And the two sites are quite niche sites… – 4:11

You mentioned Property, Entertainment and travel – have you plans to have sites in those areas as well – 5:12

The 2 radio stations (midwest radio and RedFM) – how do they fit into your strategies? – 5:30

How have freesheets affected you in terms of sales and advertising? – 6:16

How has the likes of Google News and other news sites affected the Print Media in the last years? – 7:34

With such competition from online and offline sources how do you account for the success of the Examiner and the Sunday Business Post? – 8:40

You recently spun out your print operations into a business of its own called WebPrint – is that a correct interpretation of what happened there? – 9:26

Why outsource your printing? – 10:20

What would you say has been the biggest change that has happened in the media industry in the last five years? – 11:32

And of the changes – what do you think has been the biggest change? – 12:59

Do you see the linkes of podcasts taking some of the listenership from radio stations? – 13:56

The Irish Times charges an annual subscription for their content – is that a model which the Examiner or any of your publications would consider? – 15:38

And finally, what are the biggest threats you see facing Thomas Crosbie Holdings in the coming years? – 16:10

Download the interview here (21.7mb mp3).