Free Republic

EW YORK, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's on Friday cut its ratings on Tribune Co. into junk territory and said it may cut them again, citing the media company's statement that it is exploring alternatives to increase value for shareholders. Tribune, under rising investor pressure to sell divisions or go private, said after a board meeting on Thursday that it would consider strategic alternatives to create value with the support of its largest shareholder. For details, see [ID:nN21309852]. The statement did not elaborate on what the alternatives include but it came after several of Tribune's biggest shareholders urged...

Imagine buying the most expensive house on a good-looking block that appears to be on the upswing. Within three years, the neighborhood craters, your oldest kid starts backtalking and your spouse pesters you to sell the house and get out. Meanwhile, you're stuck with a fat mortgage. That's pretty much what life is like at the Tribune Co. these days. A boardroom fight over the company's limping stock price has caused anxiety in Tribune newsrooms around the country, from an open revolt by the top editor in Los Angeles to "fear and loathing" about potential job cuts among reporters and...

Groups of private-equity firms are beginning to wade into the auction for media concern Tribune Co., and likely stand the best hope for a company trying to sell itself amid weak financial results, an uncertain future and a divided board of directors. The company -- with a market capitalization of $8.3 billion -- has asked that bidders submit nonbinding indications of interest by the end of the month, say people familiar with the matter. So far, three main contenders have emerged, these people say. One group consists of Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners and Apollo Management. A second is...

Newspapers are all looking for ways to gain readers, and many have hired consultants to help them. In an unusual twist, The Los Angeles Times is looking to chart its future by using its own reporters and editors, who rank among the best investigators in the business. The Times is dedicating three investigative reporters and half a dozen editors to find ideas, at home and abroad, for re-engaging the reader, both in print and online. The newspaper’s editor, Dean Baquet, and its new publisher, David Hiller, plan to convene a meeting today to start the effort, which is being called...

NEW ORLEANS Los Angeles Times Editor Dean Baquet on Thursday urged newspaper editors to do more in the battle against budget cuts and not blindly accept business-side pronouncements that resources need to be reduced in this "irrational era of cost-cutting." "It is the job of editors of newspapers to put up a little bit more of a fight than we have put up in the past," Baquet said in a speech before the Associated Press Managing Editors here. "Don't be shy about making the public service argument." Just weeks after his public battle with Tribune Company over potential cutbacks, which...

Tribune said it was still on track to decide on a restructuring strategy by the end of the year. The Times, meanwhile, downplayed speculation that it was considering a leveraged buyout. The Times, which also owns The Boston Globe and other newspapers, reported a 4.2 percent slump in advertising, while Tribune's newspaper advertising fell 2 percent. The Times was especially hard-hit by continued weakness in its New England properties, anchored by the Globe, where advertising slumped 10 percent. The New England market has been especially hard hit by the consolidation of big retail advertisers such as Filene's, while classified advertising...

As part of a plan to auction off assets including TV stations, Tribune Co. cut a deal to sell WLVI Boston, a future CW affiliate, to Sunbeam Broadcasting for $113.7 million. Tribune is trying to sell off $500 million worth of assets. Of its TV stations, so far, Tribune has sold WATL Atlanta, a MyNetworkTV station, to Gannett Broadcasting for $180 million. The company also has a deal to sell WCWN Albany to Freedom Communications for $17 million. Selling WLVI is Tribune's largest market transaction so far. Boston is Nielsen's no. 7 TV market, according to the latest TV universe...