Tribune Co

Former Los Angeles Times Publisher Jeffrey M. Johnson has taken an executive position with Yucaipa Cos., the private investment firm that last year joined in a bid to buy the newspaper's parent, Tribune Co. of Chicago. Johnson will be a principal in Los Angeles-based Yucaipa, founded by supermarket magnate Ron Burkle, and will oversee its current media interests, which include parts of former Vice President Al Gore's Current TV channel and Source Interlink, a major distributor of magazines and CDs.

With a bidding deadline for Tribune Co. set for Jan. 17, the charitable foundation that is the media company's second-largest shareholder said Thursday that it had hired Blackstone Group as an advisor on courses of action that could include selling its 12% stake or joining in a bid for the parent of the Los Angeles Times.

Los Angeles Times Media Group said Wednesday that it had sold Recycler Classifieds, publisher of four advertising circulars, to Target Media Partners.

How much should a company's culture reflect its chief executive, especially one who prides himself on being a blunt and innovative -- some might say abrasive -- businessman? If you're new Tribune Co.

In 1995, Jeffrey Chandler decided to break with tradition and expose a family schism. A member of the large, extended and very private family that owned the Los Angeles Times, he had come to believe that the newspaper had become far too liberal under the control of his cousin, Otis Chandler.

The historic former Warner Bros. studio on Sunset Boulevard, now occupied by television station KTLA-TV Channel 5, has been put up for sale by Tribune Co.