Tribune Morning Linkage

Top LA Times Editors Loyal To Baquet Said To Have A 'Suicide Pact'
The Tribune Co., which has an all-important board meeting today where the crisis at its Los Angeles Times will be front and center, may have a bigger problem than even the corporate owners realize with the paper's top editorial management. I'm told there's even a name for it inside the LA Times newsroom -- "The Suicide Pact" -- and it involves the highest-ranking editors. I've learned from insiders that, if Dean Baquet gets fired as editor and executive vice president by his Chicago bosses, then his trusted senior lieutenants have agreed to quit on the spot: Doug Frantz, Leo Wolinsky, and John Montorio.

Beards ready to quit together
Managing editor Doug Frantz (left), who goes back the longest with Baquet, is essentially the number two editor at the Times.

Crunch time for newspapers
No matter how it resolves its dispute with California's Chandler family, the company's future will ultimately depend on its ability to negotiate massive challenges faced by its major daily newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times.

Staff rebellion over cuts at LA Times
A staff rebellion at the Los Angeles Times against its Chicago owners has escalated, with more than 300 journalists signing a petition to be delivered on Thursday to directors at a Tribune Company board meeting.