The Tribune Co. disclosed on Monday that its third quarter net loss totalled US$121.6 million, with revenue down 10 percent, to $1.04 billion. In the same quarter in 2007, the Chicago-based media company's net income was at $152.8 million, while revenue was at $1.16 billion, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday.

The large slump is due to “negative industry conditions, restructuring charges and a steep rise in interest costs,” on the company, which amassed heavy debt when Sam Zell, now chairman and chief executive, took the company private last year, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Since the buyout, interest expenses went up 33 percent, from $175 million last year, to $231.8 million currently. The company also incurred $45 million in charges from severance payments that went out as the Tribune company cut back its staff numbers at its newspapers, including the Tribune and Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The company's publishing revenue dropped 13 percent, to $653.6 million, while its broadcasting and entertainment revenue fell 5.6 percent, to $383.4 million, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The company is “operating in an exceptionally difficult financial and economic environment,” Zell said, according to the article. “The newspaper industry continues to see extraordinary declines in ad revenues, and Tribune is no exception.”