Tribune to Consider Radical Action

TRIBUNE TO CONSIDER RADICAL ACTION
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sarah Ellison sarah.ellison@wsj.com]
Tribune Company's board, under growing pressure from shareholders, is expected to consider dramatic options for the company's future at its board meeting today, including taking the company private in a leveraged buyout or spinning off its TV-station group. No decision on any option has been made, and it is possible the company will decide not to take any radical action, said several people familiar with the company's thinking. Serious obstacles exist to any major strategic move. But Tribune is expected to consider these and other alternatives in coming weeks. While Tribune's board considered some strategic alternatives earlier this year, including a possible spinoff of the company's TV stations, a sense of urgency has grown among senior Tribune executives. Already under pressure from some investors over its stock price, the company has endured months of turmoil sparked by a public falling-out with the company's biggest shareholder, the Chandler family, which owns a 15% stake in Tribune. In recent days, the company also has faced a rebellion at one of its biggest operations, the Los Angeles Times, where the newspaper's editor and publisher are resisting pressure to make further cuts in staff.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115880895006369768.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
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* At Los Angeles Times, a Civil Executive Rebellion
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/business/media/21tribune.html