Get ready for a domino effect that will include daily papers across the country. But hey… good news for trees, right? From Chicago Breaking News…
Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today in Delaware so it can restructure its debt.
Much of its debt was incurred last year when real estate magnate Sam Zell took the company private last December. It has repaid about $1 billion of its senior credit facility since then. But the situation at Tribune Co., which has suffered from industrywide declines in advertising revenue that have eroded its cash flow since the deal was done, is emblematic of the squeeze felt throughout the media business overall, and newspaper companies in particular.
Beside the Chicago Tribune, Tribune Co. owns the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers as well as several TV stations.
