Newspaper Publisher Tribune Files for Bankruptcy

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 8, 2008 - 9:08am.

Chicago - Tribune, the publisher of eight major daily newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, on Monday became the first major newspaper publisher to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection, the Associated Press reported. Tribune, which signaled the move in recent days by hiring Lazard as its financial advisor and law firm Sidley Austin as its special legal counsel, listed $13 billion in debt, and just $7.6 billion in assets.

The company has been significantly hurt in recent months by sluggish ad sales and high debt loads.

Real estate mogul Sam Zell took the company private a year ago.

The Wall Street Journal had reported that Tribune hoped to work out a deal with its creditors before taking the drastic step.