Tribune Going Under?
- Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co. is working with bankruptcy advisers at investment bank Lazard and law firm Sidley Austin to weigh its financial options, sources said Sunday.
"It's an uncertain and difficult environment," Tribune Co. spokesman Gary Weitman said Sunday night. "We haven't made any decision. We're looking at all of our options."
We're only surprised it took this long. We figured the Sun Times would bottom out first and the Trib would sell off the Cubs to slow their slide into oblivion. Then the papers would merge at some point and Chicago would become a one newspaper town while Mope-rah sells streetwise at the exit ramp by the Maywood courthouse.
We keep hoping it'll happen.
We keep hoping it'll happen.
Labels: media
posted by SCC at 12:01 AM
54 Comments:
GREAT time at the Blackhawks game tonight!!!! First game ever
Maybe thats why most of the time the Tribune only shows the jagoffs view of a police involved story in hopes of getting some lawsuit money!
It took me three phone calls to the Tribune last month in order to get my subscription cancelled! Then today, after a couple of weeks of non-delivery, there was the Sunday Trib on my door step, again. Liberal rag, I'm through with it. Kass was usually the only thing worth reading anyway.
Well, the thing was getting shorter and narrower and thinner all the time, wasn't it? I had a feeling.
No 2016 Olympics commemorative issue, huh?
We have been _Tribune_ readers since the days I was given a quarter every evening and told to run to the corner drugstore and get a paper and some cheese and crackers or ice cream for myself. What was it, seven cents?
Over the last couple of decades, the _Tribune_ gradually slid itself out of our lives; I eventually stopped buying it on Sundays after the wonderful Sunday _Magazine_ -- which was even sometimes worth saving and passing along to your kids -- dwindled to trendy, superficial crap.
Remember the annual tradition of the "Indian Summer" cover? Its appearance always marked a formal, bittersweet passage from summer to fall. Gone.
I still used to buy the _Tribune_ every Thursday night for certain classified ads; those ads dwindled from maybe 150 a week down to almost nothing.
I stopped buying the paper. I even stopped bothering to go to the online _Tribune_ because those ads weren't there either, of course -- and the ones that were there became a major project to read, taking about six clicks each to read slowly and individually in the time you could easily scan 100 ads in another paper that knew what it was doing. Half of the ads were old anyway, for events that took place last week...not even worth the time to go to the web site.
I went looking for some news story last night and again noticed that the _Tribune_ has become less a newspaper than a patched-together collection of "outsourced" online services -- the ads and forums purchased from Topix, etc.
It's ironic that "The World's Greatest Newspaper" has been reduced to an Internet ghost, a too-late follow-on imitator of the web logs and forums run by private citizens -- not to mention their free red-corner-box publications targeted at illegals and the postliterate.
I can also remember when the _Tribune_ property WGN-TV was THE wholesome, uplifting family station here -- ask the older guys about Frazier Thomas' "Family Classics" and Garfield Goose and Ray Rayner.
Today it's in the running for the filthiest thing on the air. That sniggering, dirty, disgusting toilet-joke "Family Guy" is about as far away as you can get from "Family Classics" and it makes me lunge for the remote every time the theme song cranks up. OFF!
Remember the National Association of Broadcasters "Seal Of Approval" we used to see on programs? Their 1952 "Television Code" was declared unconstitutional in 1982; as a result, I actually saw an infomercial for penis enlargement on WGN the other night.
That is enough.
Weatherman Tom Skilling -- a scientist, a gentleman, a scholar, and a Chicago treasure -- is about the only thing worth watching on WGN. I get so embarrassed for him when management pressures him to shill for "America's Top Models" or some other stupid scantily-clad-arguing-women program during his weather forecast.
We never gave up on the _Tribune_; the_Tribune_ gave up on us. We are the same decent people we always were; it's the _Tribune_ that has changed until we'd be ashamed to use it to line the cat box.
I will always have my memories; these people just won't have a newspaper anymore. Another Chicago institution crumbles while the insane Mayor rushes from lamp post to lamp post, hanging colorful banners that say it isn't so.
Since the _Tribune_ no longer has any respect for us, we return the sentiment.
Good riddance.
Perhaps if the Trib kept its conservative values it would still be viable. It seems that the liberals employed by the Trib took over and its true conserative perspective went down the tubes. Oh well, another notch in the belt of looney left wing America.
I love it!
They always hated the Police and now they are getting what they really deserve!
That is bankruptcy and bye bye and good riddance!
No love lost here!
One down one to go! SEE YA!
Dead Tree Dinosaur Media Death Watch.
Dumm dum, da dum.
When will the Lib-une and the Sun-Slimes aka the "Obama Gazette" be asking their mentor, B.O. for a bailout?
Don't blame me!
As soon as the Trib endorsed BO I cancelled my subscription. I know of at least 10 others who did the same.
I got a letter from the Trib, as did the others, because we all told them why we cancelled. The letter begged us to reconsider and promised to be fair in reporting.
Solly Chally!
B'bye.
Save John KASS.
The Trib slid down the slippery slope of appeasement to tne massses, and pandered to them.
The same paper that had a literary investigation of the "American Millstone" many years ago would never reprint it today.
GREAT,NEXT suntimes
SAVE THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE !!!!
SAVE THE CHICAGO SUN TIMES !!!
SAVE THE CHICAGO DEFENDER !!!
SAVE THE CHICAGO READER !!!!
...for toilet paper.
it's just bankruptcy if they even do decide to go this route. they aren't going anywhere. just a financial strategy by a business these days. look at the airlines. got rid of their debt and stronger than before.
Great news, hope the sun tmes follows. I will never forgive the trib for filing suit to open Jack Ryan's divorce records, and we got Obama stuffed down our throat. It used to be the Republican paper in chicago, how times change.
...while Mope-rah sells streetwise at the exit ramp by the Maywood courthouse.
Such a beautiful vision nearly brought a tear of joy to my eye...
Anonymous said...
It took me three phone calls to the Tribune last month in order to get my subscription cancelled! Then today, after a couple of weeks of non-delivery, there was the Sunday Trib on my door step, again. Liberal rag, I'm through with it. Kass was usually the only thing worth reading anyway.
12/08/2008 01:42:00 AM
For much of my life The Chicago Tribune was considered a conservative leaning paper.
For those who don't like the Tribune, try to imagine a City of Chicago without it. What will you read then, The Arizona Central from Phoenix? Perhaps something by Rupert Murdoch, Wall Street Journal maybe. This becomes a hick town without two large daily newspapers.
I guess I would switch to the New York Times.
Ok, now let me have it you Tribune haters,
The Tribune should have been out of business when they hired non union printes, and the teamsters crossed the picket line 25 years ago.
They are nothing more then a scab newspaper with scabs working for them
Reading this paper since the early 1960's, I must say it is really become a rag. Zell has put the final nail in it's coffin. Could the Sun-Times really be a better paper? Bad choices, This country has really changed.
Why don't they put Obamessiah on the cover everyday and raise the price to $25.00?
I remember the cover of Trib magazine each Autumn....."Indian Summer". I think I have that picture saved in a drawer somwhere. As a kid, I would scour the picture to see changes. I loved it, but politacal correctness killed it and killed the paper too. Too bad, so sad.
About 4-5yrs ago, I sent Eric Zorn an invitation in his email to take a ride-along. He sent me back some silly email about 1 night would not be a legit sample of police work and a whole bunch of other excuses. After that I stopped reading his nonsense columns that kept on bashing the police. Then you have Moprah and Mary Schmich, same drivel from both. Last year I cancelled my subscription and now buy only on some days when John Kass writes. I met him several yrs ago in 014 and seemed a stand up reporter. I don't care about the liberal/conservative accusations that are tossed against the other 3. Remember in the end its all about GREEN $. Their columns simply suck.
I am just glad I was able to read the WONDERFUL bio of jagoff Balfour online yesterday! Such a sad story, they should just let him go....He's really just a victim right? I almost puked.
I'll hire a good looking reporter
from that rag when it folds. If she's willing to clean my condo in her underwear.....
Anonymous said...
"...They always hated the Police and now they are getting what they really deserve! ..."
12/08/2008 05:56:00 AM
????????????????????????????????
As opposed to the media who always LOVED the Police ???
Nothing personal, but the news media, ALL of the news media, is not our friend! They use the police for their stories and sell their integrity to turn it around on us and make us bad guys, (a story line that sells).
And, yes. There was a time when journalism stood for integrity!!!
Think Brinkley, Cronkite, and more recently, Kurtis, Jennings and Russert.
Beyond that, credit ignorant newspaper executives who thought the internet was a fad and didn't plan to co-exist or prepare for life afterwards.
The Chicago Tribune is not going under because it turned into a "liberal rag", or because "the liberals employed by the Trib took over and its true conservative perspective went down the tubes" or even because "the Tribune gave up on us".
Newspapers have, quite simply, outlived their usefulness!!!
if i had to choose between the two i would rather read the trib than the scum times. the times has turned into "the enquirer" of chicago. maybe we can get mope-rah a job selling peanuts at wrigley field when she gets pink slipped by the times.
good riddance fibune...
maybe now we can get a paper in this town that is actually written for discerning ADULTS & also published/written from a common sense/conservative p.o.v instead of this flaming yellow lazy-ass journalism to appeal to the non-contributing mutts & their enablers... ha-ha... moperah selling streetwise at maybrook is poetic justice... pinch her bloated ass for trespass.
Today it's in the running for the filthiest thing on the air. That sniggering, dirty, disgusting toilet-joke "Family Guy" is about as far away as you can get from "Family Classics" and it makes me lunge for the remote every time the theme song cranks up. OFF!
----------------------------
Lighten up there Francis. I'm sure your grand children enjoy it as much as other people do.
I'm old enough to remember when chicago had 4 papers. My trib subscription won't be re-newed, the trib isn't the same paper that it was
before Sam. as usual the "dancer" will
walk away with millions and the worker bees will be getting screwed again
Since a few of the Trib people obviously read this blog, here goes:
We relied on newspapers to present the news, not give us an opinion. I don't care what the reporters think or what they look like. Give me the facts and let me make my own decisions about the story. You have columnists and an editorial page for that. If you print a paper that does that, your readers will come back. If you don't, you are gone. It may be too late already. Oh yeah, keep the holywood crap to a minimum too, a real minimum. We really aren't that interested.
One more thing, we canceled - stop calling!
EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT!
JUST IN:::
AP – In this July 25, 2008 file photo, Chicago Cubs fans gather outside Wrigley Field, Chicago. Media conglomerate … NEW YORK – Media conglomerate Tribune Co., smothered by $13 billion in debt and weak prospects for generating cash through advertising, on Monday became the first major newspaper publisher to seek bankruptcy protection since the Internet began siphoning readers from traditional outlets.
Although Tribune's next major principal payment on the debt, of $593 million, isn't due until June, Tribune has been in danger of missing lender-imposed financial targets at year's end. Those targets are based on the level of Tribune's debt relative to its cash flow, and become harder to meet as revenue declines, even if the debt itself doesn't increase.........
Monday's filing, made in bankruptcy court in Delaware, could give Tribune time to raise cash by waiting until the credit market eases to sell off assets. It also could put additional pressure on its lenders to ease the financial targets that Tribune must meet.
The company entered court protection with $13 billion in debt and $7.6 billion in assets.
Zell said the company's operations, which include the Tribune, the Times, The Sun of Baltimore, The Hartford (Conn.) Courant, six other daily newspapers and 23 television stations, will function as before during the bankruptcy protection period.
JUST MAKES MY HEART ALL WARM AND FUZZY. Maybe reporting the news could help instead of being a COMMENTARY PAPER.
Wish it was the Scum Times instead . Then we wouldn't have to put up with Moprah .
Remember the National Association of Broadcasters "Seal Of Approval" we used to see on programs? Their 1952 "Television Code" was declared unconstitutional in 1982; as a result, I actually saw an infomercial for penis enlargement on WGN the other night.
That is enough.
Hahaha You are old. Say hello to moses for me. You sound like my grand pa I hope talking about old school stuff that most people don't care and try to control people's way of life.
The only 1 at the Tribune that is fantastic would be Pro-Police John Kass everyone else goodbye!
can't say as I will miss them much. they have been going downhill for a long time.
i suspect there is room for a real newspaper in chicago, but the people running the tribune currently are probably not the ones to run it.
Wouldn't it be cool if the City Chicago declared bankruptcy too? No more CPD jobs, lots of free time to go scrappin' in Linkin Park...
I wrote a letter to the Trib and warned them. They drove away real readers and catered to the uninformed and ignorant. They also turned a newspaper into a comic book. Good riddens to what is now a rag. The liberal yuppies know how to fuck up.
What a great day! New York Times might bust out this week too! Now if only the Sun-Times would crack!
They hate us, fuck them.
On average and among the electorate, Democratic voters score sixteen points lower on standardized I.Q. tests. This also correlates with the literacy rate.
Generally, stupid people automatically vote Democratic.
The Tribune would not have tanked if they didn't cater to the monolith of parasitic voters who now control our nation. The Trib is $13 BILLION in the red.
As Colonel McCormick is writhing in his grave, YOU are witnessing the precipitous decline of this once great nation.
The tipping point is now upon us. It's been a great ride. We are doomed by our own apathy.
SCC: did you see that repulsive sob story about William Balfour's hard life in the Sunday Tribune? Making excuses for a murderous, predatory beast on Sunday and filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Monday: Priceless!
Any news on the price?
Want a column?
After the last election and the skewed one-sided reporting, I vowed to stop subscribing. The paper has gotten worse over the years and Kass is the only writer worth reading. The SunTimes is just as bad. Unfortunately, I'm one of those people who love to sit and read a book or newspaper more so than sitting at a computer. I susbscribed to my neighborhood weekly paper and they too have folded. I've started to subscribe to the weekly paper to the area where I want to retire. I actually like to read about the farming issues and seeing the local kids basketball pictures in the paper. You read about what the congressman is trying to do for their infrastructure and not about the political crooks in Chicago (Guttierrez) who are stealing $ for themselves through crooked real estate deals. Addios Chicago.
Signed,
KMA club member
The Trib should have been put out of business 25 years ago when they hired non union printers, and the teamsters (another name for thieves) crossed the picket line.
A shitty newspaper printed by scabs, "good riddance to good garbage."
Good riddence to the T-rib-boon, Slum-Times, and any other LIBERAL DEMOC-RAT backing Communist rag in this Country, especially Shit-cago. Down you go, hopefully to NEVER re-surface. One-sided Commie crap - wrappers. Not even good to paper - train a puppy on. Maybe you all can move to Russia and sell your Shit-Rag there, Comrads...
Remember the annual tradition of the "Indian Summer" cover? Its appearance always marked a formal, bittersweet passage from summer to fall. Gone.
**********
Yeah, and then the Tribune discovered political correctness and decided it was not fair to the "Indians" to portray them dancing around...like they actually used to do, by the way. I don't recall the last time the "Indian Summer" magazine was issued, but that was the beginning of the end for the paper as it became a surrogate for closet liberals masquerading as journalists.
But Dawn Turner Trice, Clarence Page, Schmich, Zorn and their ilk couldn't contain themselves and finally came out as extreme leftists advocating issues like abortion, gays, cop hate, dissolution of the family, no parental responsibility, racism against anyone not "of color" - all the garbage that came out of the narcissistic "me first" generation taught by the old hippies from the 60's.
Zorn, Page and the others are typical of the media types who grew up on TV and Hollywood - you know them - they are the ones who say there are only three things you can criticize and tear down: 1)White people, 2)Christians, and 3)the United States of America.
No one is interested in hate, espcially if it's self-hate.
No fairness, no balance, no in-depth reporting = no readers.
The Sun-Times uses the Trib distribution system to move its papers too. It would seem to me if the Trib goes poof, so does the Sun-Times since it cannot afford to disTRIBute (no pun intended) its own papers and needs its competitor to do so. Great! A double play. Of course they could always use GD's or LK's to "move' their papers. We get rid of both of these useless rags AND the likes of Mitchell, Sweet, Zorn, Sneed and the whole bunch of useless idiots at both papers. We would be a one paper town-Street Wise. Will we read stupid AP postings now in Street Wise? His card will say: Eric Zorn, Street Wise grifter columnist. Get the resume in there now asshat! You don't want Mitchell or Sweet pimping you out. This is going to be a tough year for our newspaper darlings. LOL from a private citizen blog reader, not the police.
12/08/08 0245am you lived my life! Everything you said was true for everyone who grew up in Chicago and its surrounding areas in the last 5 decades. It is simply pathetic what these and many newspapers have become along with the entire WGN franchise as you stated. The Sunday Trib magazine indeed had some very excellent investigative journalism in it. I remember in particular stories about the Eastland and a great Chicago who-dunit mystery, Valerie Percy, as being examples of some very excellent work. This last election cycle simply put another nail in the coffins of these papers. When you endorse politicians, you sell out your readers. The first ammendment was given to the press to protect the interests of the people-not to make them cheerleaders for crummy politicans. When the professors at the esteemed journalism colleges like Medill (HaHa) became political hacks, they stopped teaching journalism and it then died before our eyes.
Anonymous said...
About 4-5yrs ago, I sent Eric Zorn an invitation in his email to take a ride-along. He sent me back some silly email about 1 night would not be a legit sample of police work and a whole bunch of other excuses. After that I stopped reading his nonsense columns that kept on bashing the police. Then you have Moprah and Mary Schmich, same drivel from both. Last year I cancelled my subscription and now buy only on some days when John Kass writes. I met him several yrs ago in 014 and seemed a stand up reporter. I don't care about the liberal/conservative accusations that are tossed against the other 3. Remember in the end its all about GREEN $. Their columns simply suck.
12/08/2008 10:39:00 AM
Zorn just did not want to be embarrassed again. He went to one of the media days at the Academy years ago and was a total screw up. Got sick on the driving simulator during a chase. Got shot a couple of times on a job and was just a total idiot. Then he wrote a article the next day stating how hard his job was and that we the Police would have a hard time doing it. Could never admit he screwed up.
The media guy who was the coolest was Jay Marvin. He has a liberal slant but actually uses his brain and will listen to both sides of an argument. Too bad he is out of our radio market.
Someone may have posted this observation already but isn't the SunTimes really going overboard with the Obama limited addition this, that and the other thing..What's next limited addition rolling papers?!
Most people who used to read the papers are pro police, they too are sick of the B.S reporting and can see thru the crap. Why buy the paper and read lies. And then don't see the ads that go along with it.
Holy FUCK the MEDIA Batman!!!
I get my news from the Blogs. FUCK the American MEDIA--JAGOFFS one and ALL!!!
Merry Fucking Xmas Clarence...
When an reporter get's their story an email is in the wind.
It is truly is a wonderful life...
Thats ok we still got the DEFENDER!
"....I actually saw an infomercial for penis enlargement the other night on WGN...."
Damn. Missed it. Can you tape it for me?
Now, kees me you fool!!!!
There is nothing in tomorrow's newspaper that you don't already know about, due to the internet and 24 hour cable TV, newsradio, etc. They still list movie times and sports box scores. You can get that on the internet and cable. Maybe actually watch the game streamed on cable.
Noone reads the paper. Compare the circulation to the population. Maybe one in twenty reads the Sun Times.
The real reason they fail is because they fail as a business. The advertising simply doesn't work. You have a business in Park Ridge, why advertise to a reader in Darien? If you own a shoe store, how many shoes do you have to sell to pay for one ad that no one reads and is overwhelmed by waste circulation? The paper is irrelevaant and a worthless advertising vehicle.
Charles Manson could write the editorial, but if the ads don't work, it is dead, dead, dead.
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