http://www.tribunewatch.org News of the Tribune Co. and the newspaper industery Copyright 2009 The Newspaper Guild en-us Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:01:54 -0500 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:01:54 -0500 http://www.sjguild.org/rss/jpg/TribWatch.jpg http://www.tribunewatch.org 140 45 http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004061423 A Delaware bankruptcy judge is ready to approve Tribune Co.’s request to pay bonuses of up to $45 million to hundreds of managers, including the media conglomerate’s top 10 executives. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004061423 http://www.minnpost.com/braublog/2010/01/21/15194/union_pioneer_press_the_only_medianews_paper_losing_money When Pioneer Press holding company Affiliated Media announced a pre-packaged bankruptcy Friday, the press release noted that of its 54 dailies and more than 100 non-dailies, "all but one of our newspapers is profitable." Turns out the unprofitable one is the Pioneer Press. http://www.minnpost.com/braublog/2010/01/21/15194/union_pioneer_press_the_only_medianews_paper_losing_money http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004060492 Thirteen months after filing for bankruptcy reorganization, Tribune Co. said Wednesday its cash flow in 2009 will approach $500 million. That’s double what Tribune had estimated coming into the year, and more than executives had estimated in November. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004060492 http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_14203922 Affiliated Media Inc., the holding company for MediaNews Group, and its lenders have agreed on a plan to restructure $930 million in debt, the Denver-based company announced Friday. The agreement swaps debt for equity, retains the current management team and excludes all of the company’s media properties. http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_14203922 http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748703657604575005813195786280-lMyQjAxMTAwMDEwNTExNDUyWj.html The holding company of MediaNews Group Inc., the publisher of dozens of newspapers including the Denver Post and San Jose Mercury News, said Friday that it plans to seek bankruptcy protection, the latest in a string of troubled newspaper companies to seek refuge from creditors amid unsustainable debt loads. http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748703657604575005813195786280-lMyQjAxMTAwMDEwNTExNDUyWj.html http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-times-oc8-2010jan08,0,7710176.story The Los Angeles Times is closing its printing operations in Orange County to cut costs and will begin publishing a new section devoted to late-breaking news, the paper announced Thursday. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-times-oc8-2010jan08,0,7710176.story http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004054941 Even the Chicago press paid little attention over the weekend to U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer’s rulings on motions to dismiss charges and defendants in the lawsuit brought by six current and former Los Angeles Times reporters against Tribune Co. Chairman Sam Zell and former directors of the Chicago media giant. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004054941 http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004054469 The difficult comparisons of the November 2008 presidential news cycle meant that more than half of the top 30 newspaper Web sites lost unique users in November 2009. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004054469 http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004054222 Another year of changes for the newspaper industry, not to mention E&P. We saw mobile sprint forward, print decrease, employees give back, and some familiar faces depart. Still, the news is being delivered and the newsrooms continue to hum, in most places, even at reduced volume. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004054222 http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004053049 As word spread, rapidly, on Thursday about the sudden shuttering of Editor & Publisher, after 125 years, both in print and online, by its parent Nielsen Co., major publications and Web news outlets covered the news with prominent reports. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004053049