Bloomberg: Tribune Co. Employees Are Biggest Losers in Bankruptcy; Investment May Be Worthless

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> BusinessWeek: Tribune Bankruptcy Snares Employees
> Can you lose your 401 (k) if your company goes bankrupt?
> Payments to LAT freelancers stopped Sphere: Related Content

Zell More Dewey Than Truman

From LAobserved.com

News item: Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, arrested on suspicion of corruption, believed that Sam Zell planned to use "certain corporate reorganizations and budget cuts" to get the Chicago Tribune editorial board, as the governor asked. Sun-Times

Blog item: Lee Abrams tells Tribune papers and TV stations to own the recession: "Instead of reporting to doom and gloom, AGGRESSIVELY OWN it, via ongoing series'. New one weekly...it's probably going to be a crisis for a looooong time, so NOW is the time to establish ownership." Blogger reaction: "I find this terribly ironic. Who needs a primer on how to survive the recession more than the bankrupt Tribune?" The Daily Pulp

Satire item: "Tribune bankruptcy brings out Zell’s humanitarian side" Not the LA Times

Cartoon take off on Dewey Beats Truman by John Sherffius in the Boulder Camera, courtesy of the artist.

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Governor Held in Shakedown of Tribune, Cubs

Charged With Conspiracy to Sell
Obama's Vacant Senate Seat

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested on Tuesday on charges he brazenly conspired to sell or trade the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama to the highest bidder in what a federal prosecutor called a "corruption crime spree."

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald told a news conference prosecutors make "no allegations" Obama was aware of any alleged scheming.

Blagojevich, right, also was charged with illegally threatening to withhold state assistance to Tribune Co., the owner of the Chicago Tribune, in the sale of Wrigley Field, according to a federal criminal complaint. In return for state assistance, Blagojevich allegedly wanted members of the paper's editorial board who had been critical of him fired. [Click for MORE]

> Governor accused of seeking revenge against Tribune for critical editorials

> Read the complaint against Gov. Blagojevich HERE.

> Blagojevich free on $4,500 bond

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The Worst CEO

• Tribune's Ratings Cut After Filing Chapter 11

From the Washington Post

The Tribune internal Q&A website on today’s bankruptcy filing states that "all ongoing severance payments have been discontinued.” So if you’re one of the large number of reporters, editors and other staffers at the L.A. Times, the Chicago Trib or other papers who got sacked and didn’t get your severance in one lump sum, you have a real problem. A sit-down strike, such as that currently being waged in that Chicago door and window factory, seems a fitting and proper response, though you’ll need help from those of your former colleagues still employed to get back into the buildings. [Click for MORE] Sphere: Related Content

How Networks Reported Tribune Co. Bankruptcy

CBS

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MSNBC


NBC
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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]

Click image for Video

> 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