Money | Los Angeles Times LA Times Staffers Sue Zell for Trashing Tribune Boss not shooting straight: lawsuit By Rob Quinn Posted Sep 17, 2008 10:15 AM CDT Copied Five former or current employees of the Los Angeles Times, including Pulitzer-winning columnist Dan Neil, are suing the paper's parent company, Tribune, and CEO Sam Zell. (AP Photo) A group of current and former Los Angeles Times journalists is suing the Tribune Company for recklessly mismanaging the chain of newspapers, the Wall Street Journal reports. The suit claims billionaire boss Sam Zell has trashed the company in a hunt for quick profits, destroying the value of their pension and stock-ownership plans—though the stock plan is majority owner in the unusual buyout scheme. Zell took over Tribune Co. in December, and has since slashed payrolls and news pages. "We believe he's running the Tribune like a piece of property," a lawyer for the journalists told the AP. "It's more than a piece of property. The company itself is a series of newspapers, which demand the highest caliber of journalism." Read These Next 11 people hurt in a "brutal act of violence" in Michigan. A parent's nightmare, in a white cardboard box. We knew Letterman would pipe up about Colbert eventually. White House makes Hegseth put his polygraph away. Report an error