• I told you what the Chicago Tribune is not. Now let me tell you what it is. It’s reporters, photographers and editors, analysts and designers, and others who help us with the work. Our newspaper is just one part of Tribune Co., and what the corporate bosses do is separate from what we do.
• Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass • Making a spirited defense in favor of the Chicago Tribune, that little newspaper created in that building where a frat environment was reportedly fostered among the corporate wing. This is a really class thing to point out. The problem with Tribune is not the paper itself. The management – which occasionally makes awful decisions that affect the paper’s journalism – is the problem here. They bankrupted the company. They took Col. Robert McCormick’s sacred room and played poker games there. All the investigative journalists and reporters working their beat? They weren’t screwing around. Let’s be sure, when we’re ripping on Tribune Corp. for silly business practices, we’re making the distinction. (Thanks Amber Nettles) source

• disease Tribune Corp. was the subject of a massive New York Times exposé, describing the company as a bankrupt, immature, oversexed company. Not exactly good PR.
• symptom Off-the-wall Chief Innovation Officer Lee Abrams sends an e-mail to every Tribune staffer. It includes the word “sluts” and links to a satire that included nudity.
• cure On Friday, Abrams, who is responsible for ruining the radio industry, resigned. Perhaps this might be a change for the better for the troubled Tribune? Hah! source

• 
• Why he’s a good choiceRemember, this is the company owned by Sam Zell, who immediately ran it into bankruptcy after buying it and came up with a series of terrible business decisions – dramatic redesigns followed by dramatic layoffs. Hard to be much worse than that.

  Why he’s a terrible choiceThis. Is. The. Guy. Who. Nearly. Rebuffed. Pixar. When. They. Were. Disney’s. Biggest. Cash. Cow. That’s probably worse than that. source

• We blame Lee Abrams, right. Our friends at the Newport News, Va. Daily Press got some awful news this week, when they found out that much of their paper’s copy-editing and design facilities would be outsourced to the Tribune Corp. mothership in Chicago. 10 percent of their newsroom staff will get laid off as a result of this. Lee Abrams, above, is responsible for starting something similar with the radio industry. So, here’s a brief explanation of what’s up with the Daily Press:

• Tribune is bankrupt The iconic media company, which owns the Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun, the Hartford Courant and a ton of other major regional newspapers, is trying to cut costs whereever they can. So as a result, they’re trying to outsource where they can.
• slippery slope Tribune has already been down this road with many of their papers – they started doing a modular system for many of the inside pages of their papers last year. The result of what’s happening to the Daily Press is something of an extreme case of the process.
• Abrams is the point guy As the Chief Innovation Officer of Tribune, many of these changes happened due to his influence. He’s done this before. He invented the tools used to eventually turn radio into a soulless wasteland. Sure, he has XM under his belt, but his story’s already been written.

Turning news into Clear Channel

• This is a model that, particularly in smaller markets, although I can see it in larger markets as well, can change the economics of the newspaper business the same way Clear Channel changed the economics of … the radio business.
• Daily Press President and Chief Executive Digby Solomon • Regarding the changes, which are in the midst of taking hold. Many of the employees who followed Sam Zell to Tribune used to work for Clear Channel, which should give you an idea of what the company is trying to do. It’s everything you hate about radio, in newspaper form. Great. Hope you guys don’t succeed at sucking the life out of news. source

• $845 million to lose a tiny bit of Tribune’s debt source

• No agreements have been reached to date. Sam, as well as the rest of the management team, remain actively engaged and committed to Tribune. The restructuring is still in progress and it is premature to speculate about the company’s final ownership structure.
• A statement from a Tribune Company spokesman • In response to reports that Sam Zell, who orchestrated a leveraged buyout of the company only to see the investment go bankrupt, would be ousted from the company. He’s under a lot of pressure from creditors, who are owed $8.6 billion in debt. And beyond that, he screwed an entire chain of newspapers in less than two years, causing thousands of people not in Chicago to lose their jobs because he bought the company with money he didn’t have. • source

• $900 million for the crown jewel of the news company source

• one Sam Zell, a real estate guy who knows very little about the newspaper industry, bought Tribune in 2007 largely using loans and debt. He regrets it.
• two The company went bankrupt last year, and in the process of radical rethinking, laid off tons of people – both in Chicago and nationwide.
• three Now, it sounds like Zell might have an out – bankers and investors could forgive his debt in exchange for the company. Wow. That’s … wow. source

• By definition, if you bought something and it’s now worth a great deal less, you made a mistake and I’m more than willing to say I made a mistake. I was too optimistic in terms of the newspaper’s ability to preserve its position.
• Sam Zell • Who bought Tribune in 2007, then, burdened by debt, was forced to massively reorganize the company, laying off thousands and bankrupting the company in the process. Good show, chap. • source