TRIBUNE CO. FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY

Tribune Co. filed for bankruptcy protection from its creditors Monday amid declines in advertising revenue.

The company, which operates TV stations and newspapers including the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, had $7.6 billion of assets and debt of $13 billion, according to a Chapter 11 petition filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

The filing excludes the Cubs franchise, according to Sam Zell, Tribune's CEO.

“It has been, to say the least, the perfect storm,” Mr. Zell said in a note to employees just after the filing. “A precipitous decline in revenue and a tough economy have coupled with a credit crisis, making it extremely difficult to support our debt.” [Click for MORE]

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> Why Tribune filed
> Court filing [PDF]
> Tribune statement
> Trib: Tribune Co. files for bankruptcy protection
> LA Times: Tribune Co. files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
> Cubs say Trib's BK foray won’t delay sale — but judge could play umpire
> Zell tells employees: "I remain committed to the company, to you and to our lenders"
> Former Times Mirror execs' golden parachutes disclosed in filing
> Tribune Files for Chapter 11; Who’s on the Hook?
> Remember Mark Willes?
> But what about my stock?
> Zell explains filing
> MLB: Cubs are not part of the filing, company says in statement
> The L.A. Times's Human Wrecking Ball
> Tribune Bankruptcy: Print It
> What Tribune's bankruptcy filing could mean for California
> Zell, Who Led $8 Billion Effort to Take Media Giant Private a Year Ago, Says He Saw No Other Way Out
> Deal Journal: Was the Buyout Ever a Good Idea?
> Video: What Went Wrong for Tribune Co.


> Tribune Bankruptcy: Timeline of Company's Troubles Sphere: Related Content

Tribune Prepares for Bankruptcy Filing

Tribune is preparing for a possible bankruptcy-protection filing as soon as this week, according to people familiar with the matter, opening a new front of trouble for the newspaper industry.

As Tribune continues discussions with its lenders to rework its debt load, the newspaper-and-television concern in recent days has hired Lazard as its financial adviser and a legal counsel for a possible trip through bankruptcy court. [Click for MORE]

> LA Times: Debt-laden Tribune Co. explores possible bankruptcy filing
> LAbiz.com: Tribune prepares bankruptcy
> DealBook: Tribune Hires Advisers to Try Staving Off Bankruptcy
> Reuters: Tribune prepares for possible bankruptcy filing
> RonKayeLA: Tribune Co. Hires Bankruptcy Advisers
> Kerfuffle: Sam Zell's Tribune Company eyes bankruptcy
> Trib: Tribune Co. hires bankruptcy advisers
> NYT: Tribune Co. Could Be Flirting With Bankruptcy
> AP: Tribune Co. Weighing Bankruptcy Filing, Reports Say
> MarketWatch: Tribune could file for bankruptcy
> GannettBlog: GCI partner Tribune said girding for bankruptcy
> Wash. Post: Debt-Ridden Tribune Co. Considers Bankruptcy Sphere: Related Content

How Gannett Newspapers Got into This Fix

From Paul Oberjuerge:

Or, we could subtitle this post, “the numbers at Gannett leak out, and they reinforce what Gannett veterans already knew.”

That is, Gannett never has owned newspapers. By its own preferred corporate-speak, it has owned “profit centers” — and the greedy bastards who ran the company were bold enough to call it just that. [Click for MORE]

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Red Ink Will Spur Change at Newspapers

One thing is certain about the newspaper industry: It is going to look very different two years from now.

The recession will fast-forward a restructuring that had to happen because of the decline caused by the switching of ad dollars to the Internet. But without a sharp economic downturn it might have taken many years.

More than 20% of the newspaper industry -- measured by daily circulation -- is currently in financial distress. Publishers including Tribune, McClatchy, Lee Enterprises, Journal-Register, MediaNews Group and Freedom Communications are carrying heavy loads of debt given their fast-shrinking revenues. [Click for MORE] Sphere: Related Content

The Miami Herald Is Said to Be for Sale

The McClatchy Company, burdened by debt and a steep slide in newspaper advertising, wants to sell one of its most-prized properties, The Miami Herald, according to people briefed on the company’s plans.

McClatchy, the nation’s third-largest newspaper chain, has approached potential buyers for The Herald, said these people, who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue. But they said they knew of no serious offers for the paper, reflecting the evaporation of major investors’ interest in buying newspapers. [Click for MORE]

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• FOR SALE: Newspaper. Runs good. Driven daily and Sunday for decades. Leans slightly to the left. Fully loaded: includes presses, delivery trucks, journalists, newsprint reels, many working news boxes. Has fresh coat of layoffs. Needs some work: cost-cutting, redesign, updated Web strategy. Offers buyer a unique chance to be a local big cheese. Seller is highly motivated–will take best offer. [Click for MORE]
• OVERHEARD: Preparing for the worst? There is talk that Tribune Co.'s lending syndicate has hired FTI Consulting as financial pressures build at the owner of the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune. [Click for MORE]
  

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> Internal Post memo suggests Rocky to close
> Singleton: Rocky sale not going to happen
> Rocky Mountain News 'sale' shows peril of crossing profit line
> Newsday cutting 100 jobs -- 5% of staff -- and raising price
> 25 more jobs cut at Star Tribune
> Honolulu Advertiser sheds more than 50 staffers
> Three Baltimore Sun staffers laid off; another 12 leave voluntarily
> Elsewhere: AT&T to cut 12,000 jobs as landline losses grow Sphere: Related Content

U.S. Employers Kick 533,000 to Curb in November

Most Jobs Lost in 34 Years; Unemployment Hits 6.7%

Skittish employers slashed 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years, catapulting the unemployment rate to 6.7 percent, dramatic proof the country is careening deeper into recession.

The new figures, released by the Labor Department Friday, showed the crucial employment market deteriorating at an alarmingly rapid clip, and handed Americans some more grim news right before the holidays. The net loss of more than a half-million jobs was far worse than analysts expected.

As companies throttled back hiring, the unemployment rate bolted from 6.5 percent in October to 6.7 percent last month, a 15-year high.

"These numbers are shocking," said economist Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economics Advisors. "Companies are sharply reacting to the economy's problems and slashing costs. They are not trying to ride it out." [Click for MORE]

> 1.25 million jobs lost in three months

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Rocky Mountain News Up for Sale

Video link.

The Rocky Mountain News, Colorado’s oldest newspaper, has been put up for sale by its parent company.

Citing worsening financial conditions, the E.W. Scripps Co. said it will weigh any offers through mid-January. If no buyer emerges, it will consider shutting down the newspaper. [Click for MORE]

> Early Rocky reaction
> Bloodbath nears 2,000 at Gannett
> Chicago Tribune eliminates more than a dozen newsroom jobs
> Bakersfield Californian lays off about 10% of its workforce
> Santa Barbara News-Press parent cuts 17 positions
> Elsewhere: AT&T, DuPont, Viacom and Credit Suisse combine to take another 20,000-plus jobs out of the work force.
> Media job losses mount with Viacom, NBC slashing jobs
> AP Cuts 10% of Workforce, Newspaper Guild Trims Publication Schedule
> Layoffs at Random House, Simon & Schuster
> No relief in sight as radio ad revenue declines
> Layoffs gut Hollywood Reporter
> Layoffs at the Los Angeles Daily News

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