Tribune Restructures Publishing, Hunter New CEO

Tony-Hunter

Tribune Co., struggling to put its finances on a firm footing amid a drawn-out bankruptcy dispute, announced that it is restructuring its publishing division Monday, including a number of changes that will transfer financial and administrative responsibilities from the editorial to the business side of the company.

These moves do not include giving business executives oversight of editorial operations.

Tony Hunter was appointed CEO of Tribune's publishing division, with responsibility for day-to-day operations at all the company's newspapers, including both print and digital properties, except the Los Angeles Times, which will remain under the direction of the newspaper's president and Chief Operating Officer Kathy Thomson.

Hunter will continue to serve as publisher and CEO of the Chicago Tribune Media Group. Vince Casanova has been appointed to the newly created position of president and COO at the Chicago Tribune Media Group, assuming responsibility for day-to-day operations at the flagship newspaper.

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As part of the shake-up, Tribune Publishing Executive Vice President Bob Gremillion and Harry Amsden, senior vice president for financial operations, will both be leaving the company.

Tribune veterans, both Gremillion and Amsden attracted attention in 2008 when they were named as potential defendants in a lawsuit by a group calling itself the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors.

The group sought to block bonuses to Gremillion, Amsden and three other executives, arguing that they had benefited from the 2007 buyout deal engineered by Sam Zell, although it was doomed to insolvency and therefore a "fraudulent conveyance."

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