By Michael Collins
With all the problems in today’s economy, not even big news corporations are safe. In December of 2008, the Chicago-based Tribune Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Chapter 11 bankruptcy, in this case, allows the filing party to continue operation while under the oversight of the bankruptcy courts. In other cases, a Trustee is appointed by the court. “The
While under Chapter 11 protection, the Tribune Company, which owns the Chicago Tribune as well as the Los Angeles Times, will attempt to restructure its corporate debt of almost 13 Billion Dollars. However, the courts may decide against allowing the company to remain intact and sell off pieces in order to pay creditors.
The Tribune is not the only one suffering. Recent reports state that the New York Times Company has debt of over 1 Billion Dollars, and may face bankruptcy down the road. To combat this, the company is considering selling off assets like their ownership interest in The Boston Red Sox (their interest is through a joint venture). In addition to this, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helú has provided the New York Times with a 250 Million Dollar loan at a high interest rate, leading some to believe that he may attempt to take it over later.
The rise of internet news services and the losses of subscribers and advertisers have caused a lot of problems for print journalism. In addition to the newspapers mentioned here, many others are bankrupt or nearly bankrupt as well. Hopefully the courts rule in favor of these news corporations and allow them to continue operation while under Chapter 11 protection.
References:
http://www.uscourts.gov/bankruptcycourts/bankruptcybasics/chapter11.html
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-tribune9-2008dec09,0,2396202,full.story
http://www.newspaperdeathwatch.com/2009/01/21/google-bails-out-of-print-httpwwwnewspaperdeathwatchcomwp-adminpostphpactioneditpost1067message7/
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