• by Melynda Fuller , February 7, 2020

Following Tim Knight’s departure as Tribune Publishing’s CEO and Terry Jimenez’s appointment to the position earlier this week, a slew of executives were laid off.

Among those cut from the company were Grant Whitmore, Chief Digital Operations Officer and former publisher of the Daily News, Susan Jacobs, senior vice president of sales and strategy, Mark Rose, vice president of strategy marketing, Robin Gruen, vice president of creative and strategy and Chris Duplex, vice president of business optimization. The New York Post reported the cuts.

Tribune Publishing, home to newspapers such as Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News and The Baltimore Sun, among others, reported that hedge fund Alden Global Capital, LLC, bought a controlling share of the company late last year.

Alden’s publishing division, MNG Enterprises, is known for stripping newspapers. Since Alden acquired its stake in the company, Tribune Publishing has of fered voluntary buyouts at its titles.

Earlier this month Chicago Tribune writers David Jackson and Gary Marx published an op-ed in The New York Times calling for a new owner for the paper.

They wrote: “Alden’s strategy of acquiring struggling local newsrooms and stripping them of assets has built the personal wealth of the hedge-fund’s investors. But Alden has imposed draconian staff cuts that decimated The Denver Post and other once-proud newspapers that have been vital to their communities and to American democracy.”

Following Warren Buffet’s sale of his newspaper business to Lee Enterprises, Alden took a 5.9% stake in the company. According to a filing by MNG, the company wants to discuss with Lee Enterprises management issues “including, but not limited to the recently announced acquisition of Berkshire Hathaway’s newspaper operations and matters pertaining to the Issuer’s 2020 Annual Meeting," reports Seeking Alpha.