Tribune May File for Bankruptcy This Week

(NEWSER) - The bankrupt Tribune Company could emerge from protection with its top creditors—and not chairman Sam Zell—in charge, the Chicago Tribune reports. Zell exerts control based on $90 million he spent to secure the option of buying 40% of the company for $500 million, and a $250 million loan. Those numbers pale in comparison to the $8.6 billion Tribune owes lenders with first dibs on assets. More»

Chicago institution breaks Blagojevich news, and is a player in corruption allegations

(NEWSER) - What a difference a day makes for the Chicago Tribune, which yesterday broke the story of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s arrest, and was itself an object of his alleged corrupting intentions—just a day after its parent company declared bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal notes. “It’s pretty electric right now,” a top editor said of the newsroom atmosphere. More»

Financing billions in debt becomes too onerous in down economy

(NEWSER) - The Tribune Company filed today for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, due to mounting debt and an inability to pay interest in the floundering economy, the Wall Street Journal reports. Tribune’s profits declined 83% in the third quarter, making it difficult to finance $12 billion in debt. The company has employed lawyers and financial advisers expert in assisting newspapers in trouble. More»

Tribune chief hiring radio veterans to help company

(NEWSER) - New publishing mogul Sam Zell is recruiting colorful veterans from the radio industry in a bid to help save his struggling Tribune Company, the Wall Street Journal reports. Zell is hoping the imports will spark innovation at the company, whose debt has swelled to $12.8 billion amid declining newspaper ad revenue. Most of the new recruits come from Clear Channel Communications; they're expected to shake up Zell's newspapers as they did the radio scene. More»

(NEWSER) - Amid growing gloom in the newspaper business, the Los Angeles Times plans to lay off 300 workers and shelve its local news section, LA Observed reports. Foreign and national news will be downplayed to fit local stories into the front section, the publisher said in a memo today. Seventy newsroom staff will get the ax, cutting reporting strength to half what it was before Sam Zell's Tribune Co. took over in 2000. More»