Sam Zell – News Stories About Sam Zell - Page 2

Zell's Tribune Co. Heads Toward Default on Loans

analysis

Jun 19, 2008 5:43 PM CDT

Zell's Tribune Co. Heads Toward Default on Loans

Newspapers reeling from low ad revenue

(Newser) - As the newspaper industry continues its accelerating skid into the red, even billionaire Sam Zell's Tribune Company is on track to default on its massive loans as soon as the end of the year, an analyst predicts. The parent of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times is far from...

Zell Deserves Jail for 'Dumbed Down' Papers

OPINION

Jun 11, 2008 12:35 PM CDT

Zell Deserves Jail for 'Dumbed Down' Papers

'Visiting Visigoth' trashes serious journalism at LA Times

(Newser) - Sam Zell isn't just diminishing the great newspapers he bought in acquiring the Tribune Company, Harold Meyerson writes in the Washington Post—he's doing a grave disservice to cities that have supported the likes of the Los Angeles Times. "Zell has taken bean counting to a whole new level,...

Sam Zell: Saving Newspapers, or Burying Them?

Analysis

Jun 9, 2008 5:58 AM CDT

Sam Zell: Saving Newspapers, or Burying Them?

News cuts may stem advertising losses or hemorrhage them

(Newser) - Sam Zell and his Tribune Company announced last week that they would trim 500 pages of news each week from the conglomerate's dozen newspapers, including the LA Times and the Chicago Tribune. But is a paper split 50-50 between news and ads the solution for an industry in crisis? The...

Honey, I'm Shrinking
the Tribune Papers

Jun 6, 2008 4:42 AM CDT

Honey, I'm Shrinking the Tribune Papers

Zell plans to slice pages to offset $13B debt

(Newser) - Publisher Sam Zell has announced he'll quickly slash pages and more editorial jobs to offset huge debts and a larger-than-anticipated decline in advertising revenue at his newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune. An 80-page edition of the Tribune could be sliced to 48 pages, reports the Chicago ...

Murdoch Drops Newsday Bid

May 10, 2008 1:44 PM CDT

Murdoch Drops Newsday Bid

News Corp. calls matching Cablevision's $650 million offer "uneconomical"

(Newser) - Rupert Murdoch has dropped his $580 million bid for Newsday. Cable operator Cablevision has offered $650 million for the Long Island daily, and Murdoch’s News Corp. said a higher bid would be “uneconomical.” The media tycoon’s dropout was unexpected, Reuters says, considering Murdoch recently told investors...

Daily News Owner Makes Newsday Bid

Apr 26, 2008 6:02 AM CDT

Daily News Owner Makes Newsday Bid

Zuckerman v. Murdoch fight may hinge on who can clear FCC

(Newser) - Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman has matched Rupert Murdoch's bid for Newsday, the New York Times reports—but didn't go a penny over the $580 million the New York Post owner offered. Instead Zuckerman claimed his bid is the better one because, unlike Murdoch's, it doesn't run the risk of...

Zell Turns to Radio Talent
to Shake Up Newspapers

Apr 7, 2008 8:20 AM CDT

Zell Turns to Radio Talent to Shake Up Newspapers

Tribune chief hiring radio veterans to help company

(Newser) - New publishing mogul Sam Zell is recruiting colorful veterans from the radio industry in a bid to help save his struggling Tribune Company, the Wall Street Journal reports. Zell is hoping the imports will spark innovation at the company, whose debt has swelled to $12.8 billion amid declining newspaper...

Newsday Sale Another Bad Sign in Teetering Industry

ANALYSIS

Mar 24, 2008 11:07 AM CDT

Newsday Sale Another Bad Sign in Teetering Industry

New paper owners face outlook grimmer than those that scared off predecessors

(Newser) - Just last year, Sam Zell was optimistic enough about newspapers to buy the Tribune Company. Now he’s selling Newsday, one of the conglomerate’s top publications. “The news business is something worse than horrible,” he said recently. Across the industry, gung-ho new owners like Zell are experiencing...

Zell Might Sell Newsday

Mar 20, 2008 9:44 PM CDT

Zell Might Sell Newsday

Tribune Co. may unload paper; Rupert Murdoch is interested

(Newser) - Falling ad revenues could push Sam Zell's Tribune Company to sell Newsday, the Long Island newspaper with the 10th-highest circulation in the nation, the New York Times reports. Among those interested are Rupert Murdoch, who already owns the New York Post. Also in the running are the owner of the...

LA Times Loses 3rd Editor to Budget Disputes

Jan 21, 2008 4:32 AM CST

LA Times Loses 3rd Editor to Budget Disputes

It's déjà vu for bigwigs: O'Shea is forced out after refusing cutbacks

(Newser) - The top editor of the Los Angeles Times has been fired after a confrontation with publisher David Hiller over $4 million in planned newsroom cutbacks, reports AP. James O'Shea's departure after just 14 months marks the third time in less than three years that the paper's top editor has left...

News Corp. to Sell
8 Fox Stations for $1.1B

Dec 23, 2007 8:47 AM CST

News Corp. to Sell 8 Fox Stations for $1.1B

Company unloads local operations to focus on larger markets

(Newser) - News Corp., shifting its focus to its larger, more profitable properties, will sell eight of its medium-market Fox network TV stations to investment firm Oak Hill Capital Partners for $1.1 billion. The sale will leave the media company, which acquired the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones for $5....

Zell Seals $8.2B Tribune Deal

Dec 20, 2007 1:16 PM CST

Zell Seals $8.2B Tribune Deal

Vows sweeping change at now-private media company

(Newser) - Billionaire Sam Zell today sealed his bid to buy Tribune Co., proving wrong all Wall Street naysayers since his original $8.2 billion offer last April. Zell steps in as CEO and chairman, and promises sweeping reforms to the way the now-private media conglomerate will be run, the Chicago Tribune ...

Tribune CEO Expected
to Resign

Dec 19, 2007 7:02 AM CST

Tribune CEO Expected to Resign

Could walk away with nearly $40 million, as Zell sale is finalized

(Newser) - Tribune Chairman and CEO Dennis FitzSimons, a 25-year veteran of the media Goliath who rose through the ranks, could resign as early as today, reports the Los Angeles Times. FitzSimons, could leave with a nearly $40 million buyout when the $8.2 billion sale of Tribune to real estate mogul...

FCC to Give Stalled
Tribune Sale a Push

Nov 29, 2007 8:26 AM CST

FCC to Give Stalled Tribune Sale a Push

(Newser) - Sam Zell’s $8.2-billion bid to take the Tribune Company private got a boost yesterday from FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, who green-lighted a two-year exemption on rules barring ownership of newspapers and broadcast stations in the same market. Zell needs waivers for five markets in which the Tribune has...

FCC Chief Wants to Lift Cross-Ownership Rule

Nov 13, 2007 2:10 PM CST

FCC Chief Wants to Lift Cross-Ownership Rule

Says letting newspapers own TV stations in same market would aid flagging industry

(Newser) - After weeks of speculation, FCC chairman Kevin Martin came out today in favor of relaxing a decades-old rule barring ownership of newspapers and TV stations in the same market. In a call to reporters and an op-ed piece in the New York Times, he said the change is needed to...

Why Sam Zell
Is Still High
on Tribune

Nov 10, 2007 6:24 PM CST

Why Sam Zell Is Still High on Tribune

Ducati-riding magnate tells the New Yorker his deal's golden

(Newser) - Billionaire real estate magnate Sam Zell, legendary for turning around distressed properties, is likely to have his riskiest play—the struggling media giant Tribune—in his hands by year’s end. The financials have only gotten worse since he made the deal, but the "extravagantly confident" Zell isn't showing...

FCC May Ease Rules on
Media Owners

Oct 18, 2007 6:22 AM CDT

FCC May Ease Rules on Media Owners

Would allow firms to own newspapers and TV stations in same city

(Newser) - FCC Chairman Kevin Martin wants to relax limits on media consolidation, starting with repealing the rule that a company cannot own a newspaper and television or radio station in the same city, the New York Times reports. The commission is split, with two Democrats opposed and three Republicans supporting, a...

Trib to Sell Cubs Piece by Piece

Sep 15, 2007 6:38 PM CDT

Trib to Sell Cubs Piece by Piece

Company now wants to sell franchise in parts, conflict with MLB possible

(Newser) - The Cubs' owners stoked fears of a long ordeal today by announcing their plan to sell the franchise in parts. Such a sale would limit Bud Selig’s influence over the deal and might garner the Tribune Co. more cash, the Los Angeles Times reports. But selling the field, network...

All the Space That's Fit to Sell

Aug 29, 2007 3:42 PM CDT

All the Space That's Fit to Sell

Newspapers, fighting to stay alive, turn to their landmark buildings in efforts to raise cash

(Newser) - Newspapers, in an effort to bring in cash and stave off extinction, are selling iconic properties in downtown districts, the Journal reports. The latest example is the Philadelphia Inquirer, whose new owner hopes to net $70 million for its Beaux-Arts tower; the Boston Herald and Minneapolis Star Tribune are also...

Shareholders
OK Tribune Takeover

Aug 21, 2007 1:41 PM CDT

Shareholders OK Tribune Takeover

But analysts say Zell's bid should be lowered

(Newser) - The Tribune Co.’s shareholders approved Sam Zell's $8.2 billion takeover today, nudging the publisher one step closer to private ownership. But some analysts remain skeptical that the deal will go through as planned—the company’s declining profitability since the April announcement has triggered speculation that the...