CHICAGO — Tribune Co. chief executive Randy Mi chaels appears poised to resign so the troubled media company can focus on emerging from bankruptcy protection instead of dealing with the perception that its leader had fostered the sexist culture of a “frat house.”
The Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday that Mi chaels would likely step down by the end of this week. The newspaper cited unnamed people familiar with the situation.
The Tribune said Michaels and the company’s board had mutually concluded that the cloud hanging over his leadership threatened to complicate Tribune Co.’s efforts to end its nearly two-year term under Chapter 11 protection.
The planned restructuring, which the company hopes to complete by year’s end, would affect a media stable that includes several major newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, as well as more than 20 television and radio stations.
A Tribune Co. spokesman declined to comment on the report of Michaels’ upcoming departure. Phone messages left for Michaels weren’t returned. The company’s nine other board members either declined to comment or didn’t return messages.
Two bankruptcy lawyers who aren’t involved in the Tribune Co.’s case said removing Michaels makes sense, given the uproar that was caused by an unflattering portrait published two weeks ago on the front page of The New York Times.
