The Tribune Co, owner of the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and other dailies, filed for bankruptcy on Monday in the latest blow to a newspaper industry reeling from a drop in advertising and the rise of online media.
The Chicago-based company said it was forced to seek bankruptcy protection because of a sharp drop in revenue and a US$13 billion debt load, but that it had enough cash to sustain operations while it restructures.
It said the Chicago Cubs baseball franchise and its iconic stadium, Wrigley Field, were not included in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, which protects the company from its creditors while it restructures, and Tribune would continue to try to find a buyer for the team.
PHOTO: EPA
Tribune’s eight newspapers, 23 TV stations and interactive properties will continue to operate during the reorganization, the company said, adding that it “has sufficient cash to do so.”
“This restructuring focuses on our debt, not on our operations,” said Tribune chairman and chief executive Sam Zell, the Chicago real-estate titan who led last year’s private equity buyout of the Tribune Co.
“This restructuring will bring the level of our debt in line with current economic realities and will take pressure off our operations, so we can continue to work toward our vision of creating a sustainable, cutting-edge media company,” he said.
Tribune is the second-largest US newspaper publisher in terms of revenue.
Besides the Los Angeles Times, which has slashed its editorial staff from 1,200 in 2001 to 660 yesterday, it owns the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, Orlando Sentinel, Hartford Courant and several other papers.
US media reports said its cash flow was not enough to cover US$1 billion in interest payments due this year and a US$512 million debt payment due in June.
Tribune Co reported a loss of US$124 million in the third quarter, compared with a net profit of US$84 million a year earlier.
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