Tribune Night Cap

Tribune Co. shareholders suit dropped (Registration required)
Tribune Co. shareholders dropped a lawsuit claiming that directors of the second-biggest U.S. newspaper publisher failed to maximize share value, after a federal judge spotted a defect in the case.

The case against Tribune Chairman Dennis FitzSimons and seven other directors was dropped yesterday, U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur said today. Three days ago, Shadur issued an order questioning his jurisdiction over the case and scheduling a hearing for today to resolve the issue.

``It appears highly likely that the Tribune itself (as contrasted with the management-affiliated directors who are targets of this action) should be aligned with the plaintiff rather than the defendants,'' Shader said in his Sept. 25 order.

Tribune Co. hires bankers to mull 'strategic alternatives'
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tribune Co. (TRB) late Thursday said it has named Merrill Lynch and Citigroup as financial advisers to help it explore "strategic alternatives to create additional shareholder value."

Tribune Names Financial Advisers
Tribune Co. (TRB) late Thursday said it has named Merrill Lynch and Citigroup as financial advisers to help it explore "strategic alternatives to create additional shareholder value."

The Chicago-based media company said it will focus on finding the best options for the company as a whole before evaluating alternatives for its individual units. The company added that it expects to finish the review process before the end of the year.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Friday's session are Tribune Co., Ford Motor Co. and Research In Motion Ltd.

NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Tribune Co. jolted the media world last week when it said it was looking at ways to create shareholder value -- shorthand, many analysts say, for putting itself up for sale.
Source: asia.news.yahoo.com

LA Times - To cut or not to cut
LA Times has been in the news a lot lately. Its editor and publisher refused to carry out staff cuts ordered by the parent company. The Tribune company (which owns LA times) had gone in for budget and staff cuts just last year cutting hundreds of jobs. This time, however, the editor as well as publisher of LA Times stood their ground and simply refused to go along with the management. What's more, they even said so publicly; in their own newspaper to be precise. There is a very interesting article in the NY Times titled The Newspaper Publisher Who Said No to More Cuts .