Tribune execs to receive $45.6 million in bonuses

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on January 28, 2010 at 4:13 PM

A bankruptcy judge yesterday overruled protests from a union representing workers and federal bankruptcy monitors and approved bonuses for Tribune Co. executives totalling US$45.6 million, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported.

The amount represents about 11 percent of the company's operating cash last year, according to Bloomberg. The bonuses will go to the company's top 720 executives, including its top 10 leaders.

Chicago-based Tribune is currently in bankruptcy protection for more than $11 billion in debt. It filed for Chapter 11 in December 2008, and Chairman Sam Zell said in mid-January said he expects the U.S. publishing company to exit bankruptcy in the first half of this year.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Kevin Carey did not decide whether another $21 million will go to executives.

"I think it's unconscionable," Alan Mutter, a former editor at the Chicago Sun-Times who now blogs about the industry, told Medill Reports. So many jobs have been cut, and coverage has been eroded to such an extent that Mutter said bonuses are unwarranted. "I don't see anything here that's bonus worthy," he said.