Tribune cuts 53 newsroom jobs

The Chicago Tribune cut 53 jobs on Wednesday as part of a newsroom reorganization designed to help it weather an economic downturn that has forced its parent company to seek Chapter 11 protection from creditors.

The latest cuts, announced by Editor Gerould Kern in a staff memo, leave the newspaper with a newsroom staff of about 430.

Like other newspapers, the Tribune is suffering from a downturn in advertising revenue because of both a sour economy and a movement toward the Internet.

The newspaper's parent, Tribune Co., and its main Chicago competitor, the Sun-Times Media Group Inc., which publishes the Chicago Sun-Times, have both filed for bankruptcy protection.

"Today we begin a reorganization of the Chicago Tribune newsroom that will focus us more clearly on our core mission and prepare us for the economic recovery when it comes," Kern's memo said.

As the Tribune tries to remake itself, the newspaper said it planned to focus its coverage more narrowly on the Chicago area and would expand its local news operation.

Kern's memo indicates the newspaper's digital staff also will grow and a new watchdog unit will increase its consumer and investigative coverage. A new production department will combine copy editing, page design and photo editing.

"Our thinking was driven by the Tribune's goal to be the Chicago region's top destination for news and information and grow especially in the digital space. That means we must concentrate our resources and energies on covering the Chicago area better than anyone else across all of our media," Kern wrote.

As part of its bankruptcy proceedings, Tribune Co. on Wednesday also asked the court for approval to pay $13 million in bonuses to about approximately 700 employees across the company for their work last year, according to a separate memo sent by company executives.

In addition to the Chicago Tribune, Tribune Co. owns the Los Angeles Times, Baltimore Sun and other dailies.