With respect to our neverending WOWO debate about the future of books/media and the internet, The Tribune Company has just declared bankruptcy. Ouch.
The Tribune Company filed for bankruptcy protection in a federal court in Delaware on Monday, as the publisher of newspapers like The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune struggled to cope with rising debt and falling ad revenue.
From the Tribune website:
TRIBUNE is America’s largest employee-owned media company, operating businesses in publishing, interactive and broadcasting, including ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids, 23 television stations, WGN America, WGN-AM and the Chicago Cubs baseball team.
As I’ve said before, I don’t know how these newspaper companies are going to pay the bills. All I know is that we need them. Where would this blog be without the NY Times or Washington Post?
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So what does this mean Will all The Tribune Station’s be up for Sale now that Tribune Broadcast File for Bankruptcy.
Thanks for your comment, Aaron!
Possibly, but not necessarily. Bankruptcy protection basically prevents creditors from coming after them, so it gives them time to reorganize and reshape. See here.
Monday’s filing, made in bankruptcy court in Delaware, could give Tribune time to raise cash by selling off assets in a tight credit market. It also could put additional pressure on its lenders to ease their targets, possibly in exchange for higher interest rates, as many other newspaper companies already have done.
They could start selling off physical assets, or they could lay people off, or they could (try to) find more financing. Or, as you mention, they could start selling off their stations and papers. It’s always hard to know what a company will do with a bankruptcy. Circuit City declared bankruptcy, and they’re still trying to compete in retail.
I have 2 Tribune Station’s WGNO-ABC26 and NOLA38 here where I Live.
They’ll definitely still be around. I assume that if they decide to sell those stations off, that someone will buy them. Those airwaves costs a fortune to buy, and I’m sure someone would love to run them.
I saw another article a few weeks back that said older newscasters were losing their jobs because the stations couldn’t afford to pay their salaries. We live in dangerous times…
Chapter 11. This doesn’t mean the end of them. They could reorganize, get their plan approved, and swing right back into business. Okay maybe not “swing.”
If they had filed a Chapter 7, which would mean liquidating their assets to give to creditors and NO reorganization plan in sight, THEN we could start crying.
Chapter 11 is bad news, but not terrible news. Chapter 7, on the other hand, would have been terrible news.