WILMINGTON, DEL.: A federal bankruptcy judge has ordered Tribune to give up details on $70 million in executive bonuses to one of the unions representing company employees. Judge Kevin Carey ordered the relevant documents handed over to attorneys for the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild, AP reports. The judge issued a sort of "for your eyes only" ruling, saying the information was not to be shared with other unions repping Trib employees, including those at the company's 23 TV stations.
Trib filed Chapter 11 last December under a $13 billion debt load, nearly 60 percent of it acquired for the 2007 leveraged employee buy-out led by Sam Zell. The company last month revealed its intention to dole out $70 million in bonuses to top executives. The move raised objections from the rank and file, where jobs have been regularly culled.
More TVB coverage of Tribune:
April 13, 2009: "Tribune Gets Loans Modified and Itself Subpoenaed"
A federal judge allowed Tribune to modify credit terms just as another branch subpoenaed the media company and a state attorney general questioned its TV station plans.
March 30, 2009: "Tribune Merges TV and Newspaper Operations"
Two TV stations and the newspaper of record in this Northeastern stronghold will soon share digs. Tribune-owned WTIC-TV, WTXX-TV and the Hartford Courant are being combined.
