Is the Tribune Co. Getting Out of the Newspaper Biz?

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The Tribune Co. has hired investment bankers Evercore Partners and its own minority owner, JP Morgan Chase, to scope out potential buyers for the media conglomerate's newspaper holdings, the company's flagship daily, The Chicago Tribune, reported today.

The Tribune Co., which emerged from a four-year arduous and costly Chapter 11 bankruptcy last December (see "TUOL" post 1/2/13), has become more broadcast-centric, and is therefore willing to unload the Chicago Trib, along with the Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Baltimore Sun and its other newspaper properties.

Besides JP Morgan Chase, the Chicago-based media company is owned by senior creditors Angelo, Gordon & Co. and Oaktree Capital Management.