Tribune to Leave Bankruptcy After Four Years

2:09a.m. EST December 31, 2012 CHICAGO (AP) — Tribune Co. announced it is emerging after more four years of bankruptcy. Tribune said late Sunday the reorganized media company begins Monday with new ownership — the senior creditors — and a new board of directors: Bruce Karsh, Ken Liang, Peter Murphy, Ross Levinsohn, Craig A. Jacobson, Peter Liguori, and Eddy Hartenstein. "Tribune will emerge from the bankruptcy process as a multimedia company with a great mix of profitable assets, strong brands in major markets and a much-improved capital structure," said Hartenstein, Tribune's chief executive officer. Senior creditors Oaktree Capital Management, Angelo, Gordon & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. will control of the new company. The Chicago Tribune reported late Sunday that Liguori, a former TV executive at Discovery and Fox, is expected to be named chief executive the reorganized Tribune Co. Tribune, which was founded in 1847, publishes some of the best-known newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times, The Baltimore Sun and the Chicago Tribune. It also owns WGN in Chicago and 22 other television stations, as well as the WGN radio station. The Tribune's report Sunday said that the new owners expect to sell all of the company's assets. Tribune Co. sought bankruptcy protection in 2008, less than a year after billionaire developer Sam Zell led an $8 billion leveraged buyout that left the company with $13 billion in debt.