• The Wall Street Journal, Monday, April 13, 2009 9:30 AM

The U.S. Department of Labor has subpoenaed Tribune Co. in an investigation connected to the media company's employee stock-ownership plan. The ESOP was a controversial feature of real-estate mogul Sam Zell's 2007 deal to take Tribune private.

Court papers only say the probe concerns the ESOP and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, a federal statute that protects pension plan participants. A Tribune representative says, "We view this as a routine inquiry."

Tribune disclosed the investigation in a bankruptcy court filing last week. The company, which publishes the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times newspapers and owns a string of local television stations, sought bankruptcy protection in December.

Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »