Tribune Co., the owner of the Los Angeles Times, KTLA Channel 5 and dozens of other daily newspapers and television stations across the country, filed Monday for bankruptcy protection from creditors, in the latest indication of deteriorating economics for the news business.The company's ills, which stem principally from declining advertising revenues, have been exacerbated by the heavy debt load of $12 billion it incurred a year ago when it was taken private by Chicago real estate entrepreneur Sam Zell. But they parallel troubles afflicting many other newspaper and broadcasting companies nationwide: In recent weeks, the McClatchy newspaper chain put its Miami Herald up for sale, the Christian Science Monitor said it would abandon daily print publication in favor of Web operation, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Minneapolis Star-Tribune have flirted with or entered default, and the New York Times said it would mortgage its headquarters skyscraper in midtown Manhattan to help cover operating costs.
But none as yet has gone so far as to file for bankruptcy, which could add a new dimension of uncertainty for Tribune and its 16,000 employees. During a bankruptcy reorganization, major management decisions are subject to the approval of a bankruptcy judge, and the ultimate fate of a company -- including whether it remains intact or is sold off in pieces -- could be decided in part by its creditors.
