As the Tribune Company's ongoing bankruptcy issues drag on, its creditors are already looking for a new chairman for the day that the company comes out of bankruptcy and one name that's being mentioned is former Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner. The company's bankruptcy negotiations hit a big obstacle last week as negotiations between the company and its creditors fell apart. But that hasn't stopped creditors for preparing for the future. One scenario partners Eisner with Jeff Shell, currently at Comcast and a former of Disney's strategic planning staff when Eisner was still at the company. more ›

Phil Rosenthal's piece yesterday about the Tribune Company and the Bill "Big Willie" Cunningham show already being sued is interesting and all, but we just want to point out that whoever wrote these promo spots should be sued for felony criminal levels of awful. This one is almost worse, and this one is an insult to the dignity of dick jokes everywhere (including the title of this post). We're surprised he wasn't sporting a Big Johnson shirt in the spots. Vocalo's Robert Feder weighed in on the matter last week. more ›

There's no love lost between Vocalo media critic Robert Feder and Tribune Co. CEO Randy Michaels so we're not surprised to see Feder takes on Michaels and the Tribune Company today over a poker party held in the old office of Col. Robert R. McCormick at the Tribune Tower. Feder snagged the photos from the Facebook page of exec John D. Phillips and reports the photos were dated June 17, 2009. more ›

• A City Council committee approved the $3 million settlement proposed for a woman who suffered a permanent brain injury in a crash stemming from a 2004 police chase (the car she was in was not part of the chase).
• The Tribune company has filed their bankruptcy reorganization plan but not everyone is happy about it.
• State business leaders are making a plea to keep locks on the the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal open - despite the threat of Asian Carp - for the sake of, well, business.

Not surprisingly, the coverage of WGN's banned-word list has been reduced to a zing-fest between the two primary parties involved: Tribune Co. CEO Randy Michaels and Vocalo columnist Robert Feder. Feder was the first to show the world the list of 119 words and phrases Michaels banned WGN staff and reporters from using on the air (and, more egregiously, the informant-style enforcement system). While the list made the rounds and was discussed - and even ridiculed - no one was as rankled by it as Feder, who called Michaels' list, "petty and insulting micromanaging of subordinates." more ›

The local mediasphere is abuzz this morning after Robert Feder posted this long list of 119 words that staff and reporters at WGN 720 AM (owned by the Tribune Company) can't say on the air. Why? Because Tribune Co. CEO Randy Michaels said so. Some of the examples on the list make sense; they're either redundant ("Close proximity"), cliche ("The fact of the matter" or "Giving 110%"), or unprofessional, folksy sayings ("White stuff," "up there"). Some, though, don't make as much sense. Words like "officials," "authorities," and the "allegations/alleged/reportedly" combo make the list as does "vehicle." We do agree with Feder that this reeks of micro-managing but we don't share his outrage. more ›

• The Tribune discovered personal data literally floating down the street.
• Ald. Ike Carothers has allegedly reached a deal that will involve him pleading guilty on Monday to bribery charges; a guilty plea would require Carothers to resign from his position.
• The former mayor of Niles, Nick Blase, was sentenced to a year in prison for his part in a shakedown scheme.

• An autopsy performed this afternoon on Jameshia Connor revealed the 12-year-old girl died by strangulation.
• Webio co-founder David Hernandez is planning on pleading guilty in his fraud case later this winter.
• The Tribune Company has until February 28, 2010 to submit their Chapter 11 reorganization plan.

The Tribune Company - which includes the L.A. Times, the Baltimore Sun, and our own beloved Chicago Tribune - is preparing for a potential separation from the Associated Press by sleeping on the couch and (for the most part) going without AP content for a week starting this Sunday, November 8. The AP itself is still shaking out how it'll charge for content, including possibly offering stories to some outlets earlier than others for a higher price. The TribCo gave the AP a head's up last October that come October 2010, they may ditch the AP completely. Next week's trial separation will give the company an idea of how life without the AP might be. Of course, the separation won't be complete. The Trib's Phil Rosenthal reports that there will still be a bit of AP content, limited to sports stats and the occasion when the AP is the only source of a "vital" story. Also, TribCo TV station and newspaper websites won't be affected by the trial separation. more ›

In a move that was expected, the Chicago Cubs have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The filing means the tam's new owners - the Ricketts family - will be protected from the Tribune Company's creditors stemming from the company's own bankruptcy filing in December 2008 (the Cubs were not included in that filing). Last week, Major League Baseball owners approved the sale of the team to the Ricketts. more ›

It looks like Sam Zell's fun-filled reign over the Tribune Company might soon be at an end according to a report from Tribune rival the Sun-Times. According to their story: more ›

The Tribune Company may file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in regards to the Chicago Cubs. But it's not as bad as it seems; rather, it's a move that may help the pending sale of the team go a little smoother. According to Bloomberg: more ›

Like when we sell a Pitchfork ticket on Craigslist, the Tribune Company has lined up a second party to whom they can sell the Cubs (and the additional assets) should the current deal fall through. It's not really a shock; after all, crazier shit has happened in business and it's certainly one way of strong-arming the Ricketts into completing the deal that has dragged on for a bit. According to the Tribune report: more ›

Finally. After a long, arduous process, the Chicago Cubs (and Wrigley Field) have a new owner: the Ricketts Family. The Tribune reports this morning that the Tribune Company and the Ricketts finalized the deal over the weekend. Here's hoping the deal wasn't finalized on Saturday in conjunction with the worst performance we've seen out of the Cubs this summer. Anyway. The Trib reports: "The source said the sales price is "close" to the $900 million bid the Ricketts offered earlier this year that won an auction for the baseball team, stadium and a 25 percent stake in Comcast SportsNet Chicago, a regional cable television sports network." The agreement now goes to Major League Baseball for approval. more ›

And you thought the Cubs' problems this season were confined to a shaky bullpen and quiet bats. It seems the Tribune Company isn't dealing with just the Ricketts family, the original high bidder, anymore. According to Crain's, a "period of exclusivity" has elapsed, opening the door for the Tribune Company to begin negotiating with other bidders, specifically those who the Ricketts had previously outbid. The group the Tribune Co. is now talking to includes investors Marc Utay and Leo Hindery, who had previously bid on the team. more ›

• As the Tribune Company works at reorganizing in the wake of their bankruptcy filing, Sam Zell could find himself now longer in control.
• An interesting Chicago-centric take on Obama's speech in Cairo.
• Beware the Blue Line: delays and boarding changes have now made the move to mid-week.

• The most updated swine flu er, H1N1 influenza A tally for Illinois stands at 20, give or take.
• If Judge Clayton Crane has his way, former Chicago police commander Jon Burge will have to testify in the torture case against him.
• Governor Quinn's reform commission panel stands by their decision to advise against a recall amendment.

When we were younger, our friend told us about a car his older brother was selling for the low price of $900. Sure, it looked a little ragged, what with the rust holes and the mismatched door, but we were assured that at its heart the car was solid, and could be revived back to its shiny, reliable former self with just a little bit of elbow grease. Six months later, after being stalled on the side of the road for the third time, we wound up giving it away to that cancer foundation with the annoying jingle. Well, Sam Zell is feeling the same way right now, except his error in judgment contained seven more zeros. In an interview with Bloomberg Television yesterday, Zell said that he now thinks that his acquisition of the Chicago Tribune was a "mistake" and that he "was too optimistic in terms of the newspaper's ability to preserve its position." Huh, a business guy with zero experience in the newspaper industry was wrong about the direction said industry was heading -- imagine that. more ›

More details in the proposed deal between the Tribune Company and the Illinois Finance Authority to sell Wrigley Field - also referred to as "Project Elwood" - are emerging. The Associated Press obtained a memo dated November 19 via the Freedom of Information Act that details a complex agreement which would have had the IFA set up a company to lease Wrigley Field to the news Cub owner at $25 million a year for 30 years with the IFA retaining 95 percent of the interest and the Tribune Company retaining 5 percent; the deal also called for a $300 million state loan for upgrades to the stadium. According to the AP report, the Tribune Company would have netted up to $45 million from the deal. more ›

After yesterday's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the Sun-Times Media Group tried to put a positive spin on the proceedings. Jeremy L. Halbreich, the STMG Chairman of the Board and Interim CEO, said he hopes the proceedings are all done by the end of the year and the situation will not interrupt the publication of the group's many newspapers and their corresponding websites. more ›

In the latest move to cut costs, the Tribune Company has announced it's combining the Chicago Tribune's and LA Times's international reporting departments. The new unit will be based out of Los Angeles and will serve all of the Tribune Company's papers. Chicago Tribune Editor Gerould Kern said, "At a time when there is more competition than ever for local audiences, we must bring people news and information that is unique and valuable. The new foreign operation will help us use our resources more effectively to succeed in the future." [AP via Trib] more ›

Despite the fact the Tribune Company has picked a buyer for the Chicago Cubs, it doesn't look like they'll be rid of the team by Opening Day as had been originally hoped. Cubs chairman Crane Kenney said talks to hammer out an official deal continue and that the negotiations will likely continue even as the Cubs' April 6th Opening Day comes and goes. more ›

Blaming the tanking real estate market and their bankruptcy-protection case, the Tribune Company has pulled the Tribune Tower off the market. Damn, and we almost had enough to make it the new Chicagoist HQ. The Trib Company had hired a broker to unload both the Tribune Tower and Times Mirror Square, the HQ for the LA Times, but with the economy spiraling further and further down the drain, the sales have been put on ice. more ›

The Tribune Company has been making headlines in papers other than their own these days, most recently for its part in former governor Rod Blagojevich's schemes and for filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, making it the first in decades to do so. But now they're back in the news for a recent decision to close the McCormick Freedom Museum, housed in the first and second floors of the Tribune Tower annex on Michigan Avenue. Focused on educating school-aged children on issues of first amendment rights and the meaning of freedom, the museum will close its doors on March 1 and move toward mobile exhibits. - Post by Anthonia Akitunde more ›

Just as the nation prepares to swear in a new president, the Chicago Cubs could learn the identity of their new owner by the time Obama sets up his personal radio in the Oval Office. Or, the Tribune Company might just pull the team off the market altogether. Such is the process of selling a major sports franchise. A "source" tells the Trib that the winning bidder could be announced within the next seven to ten days. However, the Cubs may not be sold at all. Another "source" "cautioned that the process of narrowing the auction to one bidder still could be derailed, and Tribune Co. could pull the team and its landmark stadium off the market."

Once the winning bid is chosen, the deal is far from completion. Tribune Co. plans to enter into negotiations with the prospective buyer to work out a sale. Tight credit markets make it more difficult to obtain loans to finance a transaction that could approach $1 billion.

Image by John P. Glynn