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Tribune bankruptcy judge extends filing deadlines

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Carey extended the filing deadlines in Tribune Co.’s bankruptcy case Wednesday to give rival creditor groups more time to propose alternative restructuring plans for the Chicago-based media company.

The move will push the first disclosure hearing on those plans into late November and guarantees that the all-important confirmation hearings in the case won’t be held until sometime next year.

Carey had earlier given Tribune Co. and its various creditor constituencies until this Friday to file any restructuring plans. But junior creditors asked that a company-sponsored plan negotiated earlier this week be filed first and that they be given two extra weeks to decide whether to file competing plans. Get the full story »

Tribune Co. CEO: ‘Ignore noise’ of NY Times story

Randy Michaels, second from left, with other Tribune Co. executives at a press conference held by Sam Zell in 2007. (Jose More/Chicago Tribune)

Randy Michaels, Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co.’s chief executive, on Tuesday night sent an e-mail urging employees to “ignore the noise” in anticipation of a New York Times story he expected to “apparently paint the work environment at Tribune as hostile, sexist and otherwise inappropriate.” Get the full story »

Eisner says he’d advise, not run, Tribune Co.

Former Disney Co. chief Michael Eisner denied rumors Tuesday morning that he will become chairman of a post-bankruptcy Tribune Co.

In an interview with WGN-720 AM host Greg Jarrett, Eisner acknowledged that he had bought Tribune debt as an investment and knew some of the principals involved, but said a journalist “put 2 and 2 together and got 11″ in speculating that Eisner would move into the top job at Tribune. Get the full story »

Tribune Co. talks continue; judge weighs failure

The battling parties in Tribune Co.’s fractious bankruptcy case planned to sit down Monday for another day of mediation aimed at forging a settlement of legal claims surrounding the company’s 2007 leveraged buyout.

But at a status hearing in Delaware before the mediation session began, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Carey spent much of his time anticipating how to proceed  assuming the mediation fails. Get the full story »

WGN legend Ward Quaal dies

Ward Quaal, who was hired in 1941 as a WGN-AM 720 staff announcer and went on to shape that station and WGN-Ch. 9 as an executive of Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co.’s WGN Contintental Broadcasting, died Friday in an area nursing home. He was 91.

Two Tribune creditors file own reorganization plan

Two of the largest senior creditors in Tribune Co.’s bankruptcy case filed a plan of reorganization in Delaware bankruptcy court Friday, providing an alternative solution to the management plan that has been in place since earlier this year.

The move makes allies out of two distressed debt hedge funds, Angelo, Gordon & Co. and Oaktree Capital Management, that had until recently been at odds with each other. And it comes in advance of a court-ordered mediation that is scheduled to begin Sept. 26. Get the full story »

Eisner downplays rumors of Tribune Co. role

Former Disney Chief Executive Michael Eisner is downplaying reports he is being considered to head Tribune Co. after it exits bankruptcy protection.

The 68-year-old told a St. Louis radio station Tuesday that “somebody in the media” read more into his association with Tribune than was real. Get the full story »

Creditor seeks Ch. 11 trustee in Tribune Co. case

A large junior creditor in Tribune Co.’s bankruptcy case asked the judge to appoint a Chapter 11 trustee to administer potential legal claims surrounding the company’s ill-fated 2007 leveraged buyout.

Contending that the debtor, its management and lawyers for the committee of unsecured creditors face too many conflicts of interest, Aurelius Capital Management  said appointing an independent third party would be the only way to make sure potential claims get a fair hearing. Get the full story »

Tribune Co. creditors seek to sue Zell over LBO

The unsecured creditor’s committee in Tribune Co.’s bankruptcy case asked a Delaware judge Monday for the right to sue Chicago real estate magnate Sam Zell, company officials and others who participated in the company’s ill-fated 2007 leveraged buyout. Get the full story »

Playboy for the blind? Yep, pictures and all

Suzi Hanks reads Playboy's articles -- and describes the pictures -- for Taping for the Blind in Texas. (AP)

Suzi Hanks reads Playboy magazine for the articles. And the jokes. And the letters and cartoons. And yes, for the pictures. Each week, for an hour, Hanks snuggles close to a microphone in a tiny soundproof closet, reading — and describing in great detail — portions of the latest Playboy issue for the blind.

“I don’t have to try to read it sexy,” laughs Hanks, one of about 200 volunteers at Houston-based Taping For The Blind Inc. “I just read it, and I’m a woman, and that’s pretty much sexy. Get the full story »

Tribune Co. names Liebentritt chief restructuring officer

Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co. today named Donald Liebentritt chief restructuring officer, effective immediately. The company promoted David Eldersveld to be his successor as general counsel.

Howard Stern contract waning at Sirius XM

Howard Stern waits to ring the opening bell at Nasdaq in 2006 to mark the launch of his show on Sirius (Bloomberg)

Shock jock Howard Stern brought more than just his oversized personality to satellite radio when he joined Sirius — he also carted along an estimated 1.2 million new subscribers.

Now, five years later, Stern’s $500 million contract with Sirius XM Radio Inc. is nearly up, giving rise to concerns about how well the company would fare without one of its biggest stars. At the moment, its stock is trading around $1 a share and is down 5 percent in the last month, underperforming the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index. Get the full story »

Slutzkin new program director at WLS AM

WLS-AM 890 is promoting Tracy Slutzkin from assistant program director to program director, with Drew Hayes remaining the station’s operations director.

Judge names mediator in Tribune Co. bankruptcy

The judge in Tribune Co.’s stalemated bankruptcy case appointed a mediator Wednesday to try to forge a settlement of legal claims stemming from media company’s disastrous 2007 leveraged buyout.

The move comes after a reorganization plan previously filed by Tribune Co. management unraveled in the wake of an independent examiner’s report that supported many of the claims. Get the full story »

iPod, Apple TV upgrades expected today

With the unveiling of a new set of Apple Inc. products — likely to include music-related devices, but also the possible major upgrade of a TV gadget — Steve Jobs and company are again poised to cause a stir in the tech world.

Apple watchers are predicting that Chief Executive Jobs, at a company event today in San Francisco, will announce updates to Apple’s lineup of ubiquitous iPod media players, and also changes to its iTunes store to make it more friendly to mobile devices. Get the full story »