Judge sets date for Trib bankruptcy hearing

WILMINGTON, Del. -- A bankruptcy judge has scheduled a hearing next month on a request by Tribune Co. to hire a financial advisory firm that worked for one of the company's chief newspaper rivals.

Judge Kevin Carey on Friday set a March 12 date to hear arguments on a request by Tribune for authorization to hire Lazard Freres as investment banker and financial adviser.

The U.S. trustee in the case opposes the request. The trustee believes Lazard should be disqualified because it failed to disclose that the Chicago Sun-Times, a chief competitor to the Chicago Tribune, hired it to help the Sun-Times evaluate its strategic alternatives. The trustee also noted that Lazard was employed in 2003 by the Sun-Times, then known as Hollinger International, to help with its restructuring efforts.