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Tribune execs' bankruptcy proceedings update

8/20/2010 2:39:25 PM

Memo to Tribune employees

From: Tribune Communications
Sent: Friday, August 20, 2010 12:55 PM
Subject: Message from Randy and Gerry/Chapter 11 Developments

Today we informed the U.S. Bankruptcy Court overseeing our Chapter 11 filing that we intend to file amendments to our plan of restructuring by next Friday, Aug. 27th. We'll also be filing a supplemental disclosure statement and a motion about procedures related to voting on the plan, and it appears that our confirmation hearing may be rescheduled to Nov. 8th.

This process is moving more slowly and has become noisier than we had hoped. In spite of the noise, you are performing exceptionally. As the Chapter 11 process moves forward, we must continue to focus on our business and our mission to provide outstanding service to our customers, advertisers and communities. Next week, we'll file our monthly operating report for July and once again, our financial results will be strong. All of our media businesses are profitable, and our creditors recognize how well we are performing. We're delivering new, creative products to the market, transforming our business, and operating more efficiently. Our strongest asset is you, and the fine work you are doing.

Thank you -- for your creativity, your innovation, your dedication. We've done a lot. We have a lot more to do. Don�t get distracted. We're on a roll, and we aren't going to slow down. Let's go!

[CEO] Randy [Michaels] and [COO] Gerry [Spector]

Gawker Media's July stats

8/4/2010 5:35:43 PM

Memo to Gawker Media employees

From: Nick Denton
Subject: Top stories in July
To: edit@gawker.com
Date: Wednesday, August 4, 2010, 5:18 PM

Kevin Purdy's highly informative story about the effects of caffeine on the brain in Lifehacker was the breakout story of July. And the reader interest in the piece highlights -- do we really need a reminder? -- the draw of the explanation. There's too much news on the web; and way too little explanation. Fully a quarter of the top stories are straight how-tos or otherwise helpful or informative.

Do we really need any reminders of the other patterns either? The stories to which people respond are the stories to which they've always responded, since way before the internet. Readers enjoy strong opinion, such as Charlie Jane's attack on Night Shyamalan. They like mysteries, especially photoshop mysteries, as Gizmodo demonstrated with its coverage of BP's photoshopped PR pic.

They like photographs generally, as Gawker demonstrated with its package of exclusive pics of Mark Zuckerberg doing dorky Silicon Valley things. And video: Adrian Chen's slight item on a man with a hard-on for Sarah Palin was more popular than most wordier pieces.

We haven't been known for great yarns, leaving that to long-form publications such as magazines. But Jezebel's story about the clueless secretary, told through an email thread, showed how a narrative can work. (Jezebel was the star site of the month; though Gawker, io9 and Lifehacker also came in strong.)

Other patterns? Well, there were four stories featuring teenagers in the top 20; the 11-year-old girl abused by the evil trolls of 4chan; the 15-year-old who tricked Apple; the 17-year-old who swapped a phone for a Porsche; and the 19-year old extorted by the world's worst person. In terms of web interest, we know that female trumps male. Youth also trumps age.

Take a look through the full list below of Gawker Media's most viral stories. It's seriously the best guide to web journalism there is. Every story that made it onto that list had to be both interesting and well-packaged. If you can get just a few of your pieces onto that list each month, you're golden; both here and at any future media job.

Though I can't say I recommend Dash Bennett's approach, which was to run subject lines from emails I had sent him over the year. That item scraped in at #100.

Or course, there are plenty more gems among the thousands of stories that we put out each month, among those that don't make it into the Top 100. I'm just going to mention one. If you have a moment, read Joel Johnson's advice to people who take their phone affiliation way way too seriously. It's as good a piece as you'll read anywhere.

JULY'S TOP STORIES

GROWTH BY SITE

Lyman joins NYT National Desk

5/24/2010 4:41:43 PM

Memo to New York Times staff

To the Newsroom:

I'm excited to announce that Rick Lyman is coming home to the National Desk as Deputy and the final member of our new team.

Of course, Rick is not so much joining National as rejoining it � and not for the first time. After coming to The Times in 1997 as a general assignment reporter in Culture, he became Houston Bureau Chief and covered George W. Bush�s gubernatorial re-election campaign and the months leading up to his announcement to run for president. After Houston, he moved to the Los Angeles Bureau where he covered the movie industry. It was while in Hollywood that he wrote, over a two-year period, a series called �Watching Movies,� in which he sat down with a well-known actor or director and watched some film with them that had a particular impact on their lives.

After Hollywood, Rick returned to National, first as part of the team covering the 2004 presidential election and then as a roving correspondent based in New York. From there, he went back to Culture as an editor handling books and theater. When the Media Desk was reconstituted in October of 2008, he moved there as deputy and helped Bruce Headlam make that desk a powerhouse operation.

Rick has been working for one newspaper or another since, on a lark, he wrote a letter to the Gary, Ind., Post-Tribune when he was 14-years-old and was hired as a copy boy. He was editor-in-chief of the student newspaper at Indiana University, worked at the Hammond, Ind., Times and then in UPI�s Chicago Bureau before spending three years as a reporter and editor at The Kansas City Star and 15 years at The Philadelphia Inquirer. While at The Inquirer, Rick had several reporting and editing positions, including back-to-back, four-year stints as a national correspondent in the New York Bureau and foreign correspondent based in Johannesburg.

When David Firestone departed the third floor, I lamented that we had lost our Kansas City native just as we're opening a Kansas City Bureau. Well, we've solved that one: Rick may not be a KC native but he worked there as a young reporter -- alongside a guy named Firestone.

In fact, Rick was part of a team that shared a Pulitzer Prize for local reporting for writing about the collapse of two skywalks into the crowded lobby of a Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City that killed 114 people. And he won the Overseas Press Club of America�s award for the best newspaper reporting from abroad for writing about the U.S. military presence in Somalia during the period when its civil war and famine were at their height.

My favorite Lyman story won no prizes, but it's one that I'll never forget. Banned from Dick Cheney's press plane in 2004, Rick stalked the vice president and wrote about it for the Week in Review with his trademark wry humor: "I have taken 16 flights totaling 10,496 miles and driven more than 1,000 additional miles to and from distant events. I have changed hotels and rental cars almost every day. I ate burritos in New Mexico, barbecue in Memphis and a steak the size of a hubcap in Minneapolis. My expense account will be a splendid thing.''

Rick's move means there's an opening in the Media Desk for a smart editor to run our Hollywood and publishing coverage. Experience in those subject areas not a prerequisite but a curious mind, great hands and desire to break news big and small are.

-- Rick Berke

NYT memo re Jill Abramson

5/19/2010 1:38:01 PM

Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 1:11 PM
To: [New York Times staff]
Subject: Jill's Big Adventure

Colleagues:

Beginning June 1, Jill is going to take a six-month detour from the traditional Managing Editor role to run the news part of the Website and to fully immerse herself in the digital part of our world. Her aim will be to push our integration to the next level, which means mastering all aspects of our digital operation, not only the newsroom digital pipeline but also the company's digital strategy in all its ramifications. During this time she will largely disengage from day-to-day news coverage.

We have invited three editors -- Larry Ingrassia, Dean Baquet and Susan Chira -- each to fill in for two months as acting Managing Editor for News. Larry will step up for June and July, Dean for August and September, and Susan for October and November.

No doubt this rotation will be widely analyzed, interpreted and speculated about. (I look forward to hearing and reading a lot of entertaining nonsense.) The real purpose is threefold: 1) to give us a chance to see some of our best editors applying their talents to the entire news report, in print and online, rather than to specific departments; 2) to give these editors a break, a digression, a cobweb-clearing, an adventure; and 3) to allow deputies in their departments to show what they can do with a couple months of greater authority and autonomy.

At the end of these sojourns, we expect the substitutes to return to their department a little smarter and a little refreshed. Jill will return to the ME job ready to guide the final lap of newsroom integration.

Best,
Bill

Vanderbilt cancels journalism fellowship

4/16/2010 10:21:45 AM

Vanderbilt University memo

Thank you for your interest in the Vanderbilt University Media Fellowship "Securing Our Future: Energy and the Environment."

We are disappointed to let you know that, after careful consideration, we have made the decision to cancel the fellowship this year.

While we had solid interest in the program, the application pool was smaller than we feel is needed in order to have a meaningful experience. In light of the media's tight budgets and staffing cuts, we found that fewer people felt they could afford the travel or time away from work.

Since 1997, the Vanderbilt University Media Fellowship program has brought together experts on a wide range of topics with the people who write about those topics. In light of the current media landscape, we are reassessing the program and hope to continue it in some form. We welcome your ideas of how we might accomplish this.

If any of the experts or topics from the fellowship caught your interest, we�d be happy to put you in touch with the experts and help you in any way possible.

---------------------------------------
Missy Pankake
Public Affairs Officer
Vanderbilt University News Service

WSJ announces new M&A team

4/16/2010 8:41:54 AM

From: [WSJ managing editor] Thomson, Robert
Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 6:36 PM
To: WSJ All News Staff; Newswires_USERS
Subject: The new global M&A team

Dear All,

We are absolutely delighted to announce an expanded global deals team that will build on the leadership that the Journal has crafted in a crucial area of reporting.

Gina Chon and Anupreeta Das will become our new senior M&A reporters in New York - a dynamic duo who will certainly dominate coverage in this high-profile area. Gina was most recently our reporter on the ground in Iraq and Anupreeta comes to us from Reuters, where she was the outstanding member of their M&A team and one of their brightest talents. The deals duet will add energy and talent to our already strong team, which is led by our Deputy Money & Investing editor, the excellent Dennis Berman, and our veteran London M&A reporter, Dana Cimilluca. To complete the global team, we are pleased to have Asia veteran Alison Tudor heading to Hong Kong. In other words, we have the world staked out.

Gina joined Money & Investing earlier this year following two years as the Journal�s Baghdad correspondent. In Iraq, Gina produced a string of compelling stories under difficult conditions and emerged as one of the best sourced reporters in Baghdad, a necessary trait for an M&A reporter. She joined the Wall Street Journal in 2005 in Detroit, where she covered the auto industry, including the sale of Chrysler to Cerberus. Before that, she worked for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting in Iraq, where she trained Iraqi journalists. She also lived in Cambodia for two years and reported from Thailand, Burma, Vietnam and South Korea, where she had her first taste of M&A matters as Seoul Correspondent for the Daily Deal. Her book, Behind the Killing Fields, which she wrote with a Cambodian colleague, is due out this summer.

Anupreeta joins the Journal from Reuters, where she rapidly climbed the reporting ranks. She most recently covered M&A, focusing on technology, media and telecom deals. She broke news on Microsoft and Yahoo and Comcast, and General Electric and Vivendi, among many others. She has also covered technology and venture capital in San Francisco, and prior to joining Reuters, Anupreeta reported in her native India at two of the country�s biggest publications, Outlook Magazine and The Indian Express.

The venerable Dennis is a veteran of the M&A beat, having covered deals from 2004 through early 2008. He broke some of the biggest stories of that era, including Bank of America's purchase of Merrill Lynch, Mars' purchase of Wrigley, and the LBOs of HCA, Harrah's and Equity Office Properties. For the past three years, Dennis has written The Game column, highlighting the bright and the dark sides of Wall Street's personality.

Dana joined the Journal in 2007 as the lead blogger for Deal Journal. He moved to London in 2008 as our European M&A reporter. Since then he�s broken stories including Roche's $47 billion purchase of Genentech, Heineken's acquisition of Femsa Cerveza and Coke's $12 billion deal with its largest bottler. Before joining the Journal, Dana was Bloomberg's M&A reporter in New York. Dana had a five-year stint in equity research at Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch.

Alison Tudor will land in Hong Kong next month as our Asian M&A and finance reporter. Alison moves over from the Journal's Tokyo bureau, where she�s covered banking and finance for the past two years. She has broken news in running stories on AIG, Lehman and Citigroup�s distressed sale of Japanese assets. She came to the Journal in 2008 from Reuters, where she covered private equity in Asia and led the international corporate finance team in Japan. Alison has worked as a financial correspondent in Tokyo, London, Paris, Milan and Rome. She will report to Hong Kong bureau chief Peter Stein.

There is no doubt that, under the guidance of Dennis, we have built a global team that is without peer. We wish them all the best in the pursuit of the deal,

Robert.

AP's Barrett jumps to WSJ

4/15/2010 1:13:51 PM

AP loses Department of Justice reporter to WSJ

From: Komarow, Steven
Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 10:53 AM
To: WDC - Washington DC National Staff
Subject: Devlin Barrett

Folks,

I'm sad to announce that Devlin Barrett has resigned. He'll be taking a job with the Wall Street Journal's new New York edition, covering news in Washington of interest to readers in the Big Apple.

Please join me in wishing him well.

Steve

Steven Komarow
Deputy Chief of Bureau
The Associated Press
1100 13th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005

Philly guild says it's neutral regarding auction

4/13/2010 2:52:08 PM

From: Guild Bulletin [mailto:GuildBulletin@local-10.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 1:44 PM
To: Rita Dooling
Subject: As auction nears, Guild remains neutral

Dear Guild member,

You don't need us to remind you that the bankruptcy process has been frustrating and confusing.

But as the auction date of April 27 approaches, we want to remind the membership that Guild leaders are committed to bargain a fair contract with whatever entity emerges with control of the Inquirer and Daily News.

As neither the present ownership nor any potential bidders have told us of their intentions, the Guild has not supported any bidder and has remained neutral throughout the bankruptcy process.

At the end of the day, what makes our enterprise successful is the effort and ability of our members, and their commitment to the newspapers and to each other. In these difficult times in our industry what we need is a publisher that understands that quality journalists and experienced and dedicated sales and circulation staffs - our members - are valuable assets that set us apart from the pack.

Stay strong, stay focused and stay tuned.

In solidarity,

Dan Gross, President,
Bill Ross, Executive Director, and the Executive Board of the Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia/CWA Local 38010

Tribune announces deal with creditors

4/8/2010 5:16:20 PM

From: Tribune Communications
Sent: Thu Apr 08 15:55:54 2010
Subject: Message from Randy and Gerry/Agreement Reached

Today we are announcing that an agreement has been reached among some of our major creditors, J.P. Morgan and Angelo Gordon, and Centerbridge Partners. The agreement has the support of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, and will be incorporated into a plan of reorganization for the Tribune and its debtor affiliates, to be filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The details of the agreement can be found in the attached press release.

As the release states, this agreement will enable us to file our plan prior to next Tuesday�s court hearing. It is another significant step forward as we continue to transform our media businesses, attract and retain talented people, and seize opportunities to grow.

We�ll keep you posted on developments next week.

Randy and Gerry

Gawker memo re syphilis and Facebook

3/25/2010 11:26:32 AM

Memo from Gawker Media owner

From: Nick Denton
Subject: How to be cynical without killing the story
To: edit@gawker.com
Date: Thursday, March 25, 2010, 10:55 AM

You might have seen a story that Facebook spreads syphilis. The source: public health officials in the UK who see a local burst of syphilis linked to wider use of social networks such as Facebook.

Now our default stance is cynicism. Ryan Tate (sorry, Ryan) did a typical bloggy item. It's done as a media story, dripping with disdain for "a newspaper" warning of "sex disease" -- both unnamed.

Facebook Might Give You Sex Disease, Says a Newspaper

643 new visitors. Pretty pathetic considering we're talking about the intrinsic hotness of the subject.

Now I'm not arguing that we should repeat the Telegraph's assertion, unquestioningly. But this story had a bit more support than usual. Officials, on the record. And we can inject some intelligence without totally killing the chance the story gets passed around.

One possibility: just make the story an explainer and ask a question in the headline. Try this: Can Facebook Really Spread Syphilis? The answer might be No. Or at least no more than the telephone spread syphilis.

But let's at least encourage the readers to get as far as our answer -- rather than turning them away at the headline.

.................
Nick Denton
Gawker Media
917-284-8248
nick@gawker.com
@nicknotned on Twitter

Monty Cook resigns as Baltimore Sun editor

3/23/2010 4:15:07 PM

Memo from Baltimore Sun's publisher

From: Ryan, Tim
Sent: 3/23/2010 4:01 PM
Subject: Organizational Announcement

Monty Cook, SVP and Editor of The Baltimore Sun, will be leaving at the beginning of April to return to his home state of North Carolina and his alma mater. Monty will be the executive producer and lecturer for the Reese Felts Digital News Project at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill�s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. In this role, Monty will lead an experimental digital news and audience research initiative with the goal of helping news organizations adapt to the new media landscape. The centerpiece of this project will be a digital newsroom where students will gather and disseminate news for publications designed to reach a wide audience across multiple platforms.

Mary Corey, Head of Print, will serve as interim editor as we conduct an internal and external search. Trif Alatzas, Head of Digital, Sam Davis, Assistant Managing Editor, Budget and Administration, and Andy Green, Head of Opinion, will report to Mary during this period.

Monty has made many contributions in his six year career with the Baltimore Sun Media Group. Since he joined us as Deputy Managing Editor in 2004, he led a number of significant innovations here at BSMG, including the launch of b, our free daily aimed at young adults, and the transformation of our newsroom into a true digital powerhouse. Total page views to baltimoresun.com increased 8.4 percent in 2009 to more than 434 million, and local visits to the site grew each month, to nearly 4 million in December. Monty also created one of the first newsroom social media positions, director of audience engagement, and a team of community coordinators who were tasked with interacting with and growing Sun audiences online in a number of topic areas.

During Monty�s tenure as editor, our newsroom produced a number of significant local stories of tremendous impact on the community, including an investigation into the Baltimore City Foundation, carbon monoxide poisoning at the Cove Village apartment complex in Essex, coverage of the trial and resignation of Mayor Sheila Dixon, and the paralyzing Baltimore snowstorms of this past winter.

While I will miss Monty here at BSMG, please join me in wishing him success in his new position and the best to him and his family in their move to North Carolina.

Tim Ryan

Christie's farewell note

3/9/2010 12:59:30 PM

From: Christie, Robert
Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 11:39 AM
Subject: My new position

Today is my last day at Dow Jones.

The last seven years have been very exciting and I have had many great experiences at the company. I will always appreciate these opportunities and the many talented people that work here.

I have accepted the position as senior vice president of corporate communications for The New York Times Company. I will start later in the month. I am excited about the new opportunities and challenges that await me.

With best regards,

Bob

Tribune: No freeze on base salaries in 2010

2/27/2010 12:57:14 PM

Memo from Tribune Co.'s CEO and COO

From: Tribune Communications
Date: February 26, 2010 12:01:34 PM CST
Subject: Message from Randy and Gerry/Compensation in 2010

Over the last two years we've made a lot of progress -- stabilizing our businesses, redesigning our newspapers and expanding our local news programming, managing expenses, improving our technology infrastructure, launching new products and obtaining great programming for our TV stations and WGN America. We're also changing the culture -- across the company we're taking intelligent risks, making decisions faster and doing less by committee.

On the expense side, some of what we've done hasn't been easy. We have, however, avoided things like furloughs and pay cuts, and we didn't reduce our medical benefits or increase insurance premiums in 2010. We rolled out an enhanced 401(k) plan that provides a dollar-for-dollar "company match" for the first 2% of eligible pay contributed by an employee, and a 50% match for the next 4% contributed. In addition, the plan includes the potential for a discretionary profit sharing allocation at year's end.

Thanks to the talent and efforts of employees across the company, our 2009 financial results were promising, especially in light of the tough economy and the depressed advertising market. We generated close to $500 million in operating cash flow (OCF) and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), including our income from equity investments, was greater than $600 million.

As a result of the company's success last year, there will be no freeze on base salaries in 2010. This does not mean that everyone will get an increase in compensation -- many won't. The current condition of the economy and our industry do not support across-the-board cost-of-living increases.

We're encouraging our local managers to review the work of their employees, provide consistent feedback, and to highlight and reward outstanding performance. Some employees may get an increase in salary, others may be eligible for a discretionary or spot bonus, and still others may receive an increase in their target bonus. But, increases in compensation will be based on merit.

Our goal is to remain competitive within our industry and create a culture that pays for performance. For example, last week at the Sun Sentinel, Howard Greenberg awarded $25,000 and a 7-day cruise to an employee who saved us more than $1 million by suggesting a change in the way the newspaper was replacing some outdated equipment. You'll see more spot bonuses in 2010.

There is still a lot to do. We can't afford to let up. But it's also important that we create a compensation system that encourages and rewards talent, innovation, speed and exceptional results.

Let's build on the momentum we've generated and deliver even better results in 2010. This can be a year of opportunity and growth -- but only if we keep changing, keep experimenting, and move faster than our competitors.

Randy and Gerry

NYT Business Day editor reassignments

2/27/2010 12:39:26 PM

From: [New York Times business editor] Ingrassia, Lawrence
Date: Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 9:51 AM
Subject: New assignments for Business Day editors
To: bizstaff

Colleagues,

As everyone knows, The Times they are a'changing in the newsroom � and that includes Business Day, where I'm pleased to announce several changes in editor assignments.

David Joachim will become banking editor, working with David Gillen to oversee our finance and Wall Street coverage. Bill Brink, a consummate veteran of a number of editing assignments at The Times, will become weekend editor.

Liz Alderman, who as a visiting business editor from the IHT provided invaluable contributions in helping direct our finance coverage during the tumultuous last year and a half, will complete her tour of The Times newsroom with a stint as an editor on nytimes.com before returning to a new assignment in Paris in a few months.

David Joachim has earned plaudits from editors and reporters alike for his first-rate work as Bizday�s weekend editor since March 2007. His talent in working fast on complicated finance stories, and juggling lots of copy at the same time, was on full display during the financial meltdown. He is smart and inflappable on deadline, and has a deft touch with copy. The knowledge he soaked up about finance and regulatory issues make him an ideal choice as an editor on the finance team.

David joined our copy desk in May 2005, after spending about a decade in the technology press. His last job was group editor for six magazines published by CMP Media. He got his start in the publishing business at Newsday, first as an intern and then as a staff writer covering high school and college sports. In his college years at SUNY Stony Brook, he was a New York Times stringer.

Bill Brink , who will succeed David as weekend editor, brings a wealth of editing experience at The Times to Bizday. He spent two decades in Sports, where he rose to deputy editor. He has overseen coverage for five Super Bowls, four World Series, the 2000 Summer Olympics and numerous major golf tournaments. In 2003, Bill took over the Continuous News Department, at the height of the Iraq war, and over three years helped guide its evolution into the vibrant live news desk it is today.

Bill then moved to the magazine division and was managing editor of Play Magazine. In 2008 it was a finalist for a National Magazine Award in the general excellence category. Last year, he spent much of his time in Paris, managing the IHT's daily report and overseeing some of its enterprise reporting. Since returning, he has worked on the foreign desk, Dining, Home and Travel � so, versatility is clearly one of his many strengths. Bill has won fans among reporters every step along the way.

Liz Alderman will be missed in Bizday, both for her editing skills, her broad knowledge of business and economic issues and her indomitable can-do spirit. Her landing in New York in August 2008 couldn�t have been timelier. She quickly rolled up her stylish sleeves and was editing stories � sometimes several a day, before she even knew her way around CCI. I don�t know how we could have gotten through the crisis without her. Among other things, she oversaw the much-praised Card Game series by Andy Martin and Ron Lieber in 2009.

When Liz came to Bizday as a visiting editor from the IHT, where she was the business editor, overseeing European economic and finance coverage, it was with the understanding that she would return to Paris after a year-and-half or so. Her time here was meant to increase to integration of The Times and IHT business reports, and that has been a great success, as there is more cooperation than ever with our colleagues in Paris. Her last stint in New York, as an editor on CND, will give her a greater understanding about how our increasingly important Web report works.

When she moves back to Paris, it will be in a significant role that builds on the understanding from her time here of how the IHT and NYT can work more closely together to benefit both newspapers.

Congrats to David, Bill and Liz on the new assignments, which take effect the week of March 8. And a special thank you to Liz for playing an important role in our finance coverage during her time in Bizday.

Larry

Memo from Tribune execs re reorg plan deadline

2/18/2010 1:40:48 PM

From: Tribune Communications
Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2010 12:01 PM
Subject: Message from Randy and Gerry/Court Hearing Today

Today the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware agreed to give us until March 31 to submit our plan of reorganization to the Court. Although we are close to filing a plan, we think that additional discussion with our creditors will be beneficial. We're still hopeful of reaching a settlement that is acceptable to all our creditors and we believe we are making progress.

The Court will hear arguments on motions related to Tribune's 2007 going-private transaction and a request to appoint a special examiner on April 13.

There will be some media coverage of today's court hearing, and during the next several weeks you can expect to see continued public posturing as negotiations continue. This is not unusual. As you have throughout this process, please stay focused on your job-continuing to serve our users, readers, viewers, listeners and advertisers.

We'll continue to keep you updated in the days ahead.

Randy and Gerry

Star-Ledger publisher's memo to staff

12/15/2009 11:30:14 AM

December 15, 2009

Dear Star-Ledger Colleagues:

Effective at the end of the year, I will be leaving Newark to assume the publisher responsibilities at The Republican, our company's newspaper in Springfield, MA. Your new publisher will be Rich Vezza, president of Penn-Jersey Advance Newspapers.

Rich, who is well-known to many of you, has been responsible for our company's daily newspapers in Jersey City, Gloucester, Bridgeton and Salem, N.J., as well as the daily in Easton, PA. He also has headed the company's NJN weekly newspapers, which include the Hunterdon Democrat, the Somerset Reporter, the Suburban News and the Independent Press. In his new position Rich will be seeking additional ways in which those newspapers can work together with The Star-Ledger and the Times of Trenton, as well as with our affiliate website, NJ.com. Each newspaper will retain its individual identity, while seeking collaboration that will help us weather these extremely challenging times for all newspapers.

I know Rich well. He's a real Jersey guy, having spent a lifetime working in New Jersey newspapers, both in news and business operations. He's a straight-shooter with a great sense of humor who will fit in well here. I'm sure you'll give him the same full support and cooperation that I've enjoyed over the past 5 years.

I want to express my great appreciation and admiration for all of you and your work here. The Star-Ledger is a great newspaper, and I'm proud to have worked with you to help keep it strong through these very challenging times. I always will value your friendship, and treasure our accomplishments here together.

Thank you for everything, from the bottom of my heart.

Sincerely,

George Arwady

Gillian Reagan leaves NYO

12/14/2009 6:06:32 PM

From: Hillary Frey
Date: Mon, Dec 14, 2009 at 5:50 PM
Subject: Some news!
To: [New York Observer staff]

Hi Everyone,

I am sad to report that next Monday will be Gillian Reagan's last day
at the Observer. But I am very happy to pass on the news that she's
leaving us to become a Senior Editor at The Business Insider, covering
media and the New York tech scene that she�s brought to life in our
pages so skillfully. We don't have too much time with her left, so
make sure to clink glasses with her at the holiday party on Wednesday.

I think all of the editors have had the good fortune to edit Gillian,
but I feel especially lucky to have worked with her on so many great
stories. We both started here around three years ago�she was hired
after interning�and instantly got to work producing pieces on
nightlife (remember the Trust Fund DJs?) and silly only-in-NY trends
(like the scene at The Bench in front of the American Apparel on
Houston). And who could forget the Beautiful Bicycle Girls? That was
one of many terrific Gillian/Alexandra collaborations.

I was also lucky to edit Gillian as she moved into covering the NY
tech scene�The Facebook Administration cover story was an unwieldy,
complicated piece that she handled with total control; her coverage of
transparency in government through technology has been serious,
engaging and valuable. Her objective, thoughtful and thorough
reporting has shed light on an industry in this city that before was
fairly obscured�and largely untouched in our pink pages.

As much as we'll miss her voice in the paper, let's all wish her lots of luck as she moves on. She deserves it!

Thanks,

Hillary

Departing Union-Tribune editor's note to staff

12/1/2009 3:14:48 PM

Note from San Diego Union-Tribune editor Karin Winner

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past 18 months we have been through tremendous tumult and change. We've been scarred -- there is no hiding that -- but we've also emerged as stronger and more flexible players in the new media world. Through it all, I have been awed by your resilience and professionalism. Your passion for our craft and your striving for quality are what continue to distinguish the Union-Tribune as the most valued and credible source of information in the region.

The challenges of reinventing the newspaper have been and will continue to be constant. You have embraced an entirely new production system with relative ease and patience. You have accepted the need to adapt to fewer resources, tighter news holes and new consumer patterns for accessing news. You're more productive than ever even while integrating the web into your daily routine. Some of you are actively promoting our work on social networks and soon you'll be doing stand-up broadcasts live from the newsroom on a daily basis.

Seeing you stand so strong has made it difficult, but at the same time helped me to arrive at the decision to retire on Dec. 31.

It is time for our new ownership to have their own editor. Ed Moss has told the community that he is building a new company with a new management team. That calls for new leadership in the newsroom as well. I have no doubt, however, that your opportunities to do great journalism, to continue to shape the future of this region and to make a difference in people's lives will not be diminished. On the contrary. There is much to do...and you are the staff to accomplish it.

We have lived through a lot together. A merger and a sale. We've seen generous ad revenues go into freefall. We have welcomed scores of new and diverse faces into the newsroom and said too many heart-wrenching goodbyes.

My heart swells when I think of the individual triumphs and tremendous team accomplishments journalistically. You have made people laugh. And you've given them hope. You've explained the incomprehensible and provided readers with what they need to make good decisions in their lives.

From the McDonald's mass shooting in San Ysidro to the purple shrouds of the Heaven's Gate cult in Rancho Santa Fe; from the PSA crash over North Park to the horrific wildfires of recent years, your breaking news coverage has been the best. You've dug deep and put our watchdog work on the map. We've achieved our first two Pulitzers as the Union-Tribune and earned the distinction of offering the best "General Excellence in Newspapers for 2008" from the California Newspapers Publishers Association. You have served the public well.

Building a great newspaper with you has been a gift and an honor. I thank you all for that. It has been extraordinary.

Karin

Indy Star job "set the crazy bar remarkably high"

11/23/2009 4:47:35 PM

Indianapolis Star copy messenger Ryan Checkeye's farewell message to colleagues (I'm told he's leaving to work for Half-Price Books):

Well, it's my last day here at the Star.

This has been, without question, the strangest job I've ever had. It set the crazy bar remarkably high.

Callers have threatened suicide, questioned my patriotism, reported UFOs, accused me (and Matt Tully) of stealing their thoughts, and peppered me with ethnic slurs. I once found an 80-year-old Pulitzer medal in a box of trash in the American Building (The News' for "its successful campaign to eliminate waste in city management;" true story -- Dennis [Ryerson, Editor and VP for News] has it on his desk). I've received mail from a man who tried to murder Princess Anne of England "as a joke," letters about time travel, and bizarre artwork (Bin Laden and McCain jousting, now hanging on my wall).

I once ate a duck fetus in the course of my job. You read that right. I ate a duck fetus for this company. I've now been quarantined for possible exposure to anthrax. I pretty certain (though I'm not 100%) that I�ll never have another job that runs the risk of bioterrorism.

These were, though, in many ways, the perks.

But beating out all of that were you, my coworkers. I am proud to know all of you. You made my time here well spent.

Keep in touch.

Tribune memo on bankruptcy plans

11/16/2009 7:28:41 AM

From: Tribune Communications
Sent: Friday, November 13, 2009 4:34 PM
Subject: Message from Randy Michaels and Gerry Spector/Motions Filed Today

This afternoon, we filed two motions with the court overseeing our Chapter 11 bankruptcy; these motions give us a good opportunity to update you on the restructuring process.

One motion asks the court to extend the period of exclusivity for filing our restructuring plan to March 31, 2010. In plain English, this motion seeks to extend the time during which only we can file a plan. The current period of exclusivity expires at the end of this month.

As the motion states, we have made �substantial progress toward filing a plan of reorganization� �. Our goal is to deliver a plan that our creditors can support and to do so as quickly as possible. We continue active discussions with our creditors in this regard. The other motion filed asks the court to hold a status conference on certain matters related to accomplishing this goal.

The exclusivity motion makes it clear that we�ve accomplished a lot as a company. With your help, we have stabilized and repositioned our businesses, exceeding the financial results of most of our newspaper and broadcasting peers. This year we project operating cash flow of approximately $400 million�nearly double our original operating plan.

Last week here in Chicago, we met with the leaders of all of our business units and their top sales executives to share ideas and best practices as we head into the last two months of 2009. It was a very productive meeting. There is some incredibly innovative work being done on the sales side, but we can�t let up�we have to keep pushing, keep working together across all of our properties and markets, and keep looking for new solutions for our advertisers.

Today�s motions will generate some media attention. Try to tune out the noise and focus on your job. The fourth quarter is traditionally the strongest one of the year and, with your continued hard work, we're sure this year will be no different.

Randy and Gerry