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Tribune Co. files bankruptcy plea

NEW YORK: Tribune Co.’s bankruptcy filing gives the struggling newspaper time to put its finances in order, and complete the task of finding buyers for some of its troubled properties amid a dismal advertising environment.

Tribune — owner of the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and other dailies — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday, the first major newspaper publisher to take such a step since the Internet plunged the industry into a desperate struggle for survival. The conglomerate was smothered by a drop-off in advertising and a $13-billion debt from the company’s takeover by Chicago real estate mogul Sam Zell. Analysts said the company would certainly have to sell off some of its major holdings and that could prove difficult because of the poor outlook for newspapers.

“When you look at the near term, prospects for the company and the industry are certainly not very bright,” said Dave Novosel, an analyst with the Gimme Credit . Tribune Co. employees, who received an ownership stake in the company when Mr. Zell came in, could also see the value of their holdings wiped out. The company has 20,000 employees and owns baseball’s Chicago Cubs as well as 10 newspapers, including The Hartford Courant and Orlando Sentinel, channels and 23 TV stations. Its circulation of more than 2 million puts it among the top three most-read newspaper groups nationwide.

The New York Times Co., the third-largest newspaper publisher, said on Monday it would borrow up to $225 million against the value of its Manhattan headquarters building to make a hefty debt payment in May when one of its credit lines expires. — AP

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