FitzSimons Update

Dear Fellow Employee,

Earlier today, we announced Tribune’s 2006 fourth quarter and full-year financial results. The press release we issued is posted on TribLink and on our website, www.tribune.com . We finished the year on a positive note, thanks to improved results in broadcasting, continued solid growth in interactive and excellent expense control across the company. I want to thank all of you for your efforts in helping us end the year strong.

I’m also pleased to report that for those of you participating in Tribune’s 401(k) Savings & Profit Sharing Plan, the company’s 2006 profit sharing contribution will be 3 percent of your eligible annual compensation. Together with the 4 percent of your bi-weekly compensation that is contributed to your 401(k) account each pay period by the company, the 2006 contribution totals 7 percent of eligible pay.

Recent developments across the company seem to have two common themes—journalistic excellence and innovation. It’s great to see our company and employees recognized for their outstanding efforts:

• This month the South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Earl Mauker was named editor of the year by Editor & Publisher. The magazine pointed to Earl’s leadership role in achieving readership growth for the Sun-Sentinel through editorial innovation and cited the newspaper’s many journalistic accomplishments during his tenure. The full E&P story is posted on TribLink.
• Also at the Sun-Sentinel, Jeff Levine, vice president/marketing, was honored last week by the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) with its Marketing Master Award. By leading a well executed media campaign and other initiatives, Jeff and his team—working closely with the newsroom via their marketing “bridge” program—have been instrumental in readership growth.
• The Los Angeles Times announced new strategies for accelerating growth on the web and meeting the evolving needs of readers, users and advertisers. Leading the charge will be Russ Stanton, appointed to the newly created position of innovation editor, and Rob Barrett, now a vice president of the Los Angeles Times Media Group. Their mission is to integrate newsgathering across print and online, creating a true 24-hour multimedia enterprise.
• At the Hartford Courant, reporters Lisa Chedekel and Matthew Kauffman earned the prestigious Worth Bingham Prize for investigative journalism. Their four-day series, “Mentally Unfit, Forced to Fight,” published last May, led Congress to add legislation addressing critical flaws in the military’s mental health system.
• Two Tribune Interactive sites were winners in the NAA’s 2007 Digital Edge Awards. Chicagotribune.com was honored for Most Innovative Storytelling for two separate features, and Courant.com won for Best Classified Innovation based on its pets classified site.
• Finally, also last week, WGN Radio’s Pat Hughes was named 2006 Illinois Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. This will be Pat’s 25th season broadcasting Major League Baseball, and his 12th season with WGN Radio and the Cubs.

I’m sure you are wondering about the progress of our review of strategic alternatives to create additional shareholder value. There has been a great deal of speculation in the media recently about the process and the possible outcomes. We continue to follow our policy of not offering comment on such speculation. Our board of directors has said it expects to make an announcement during the first quarter and that’s still the case.

With 2007 well under way, our top priorities continue to be revenue growth, building our fast-growing interactive businesses and operating efficiently. The performance improvement plan initiated last year is making a very positive difference. Thank you for contributing so much to Tribune’s success.

Sincerely,
Dennis