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By Kent Larsen
Tribune Loses Attempt To Block Sale
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- US District Court Judge Tena Campbell turned
down the Salt Lake Tribune's request that she halt the paper's sale
to Denver's MediaNews group. Campbell denied all the Tribune's
claims, saying that the evidence did not support the claims. The
Tribune said it plans to appeal the ruling to the US 10th Circuit
Court as early as Monday.
The ruling is a major setback to the Tribune's attempts to block the
sale, which it claims will effectively silence its voice. The
Tribune's managers have sought to buy back the newspaper from AT&T
Corp., but were frustrated when AT&T decided instead to sell the
newspaper to MediaNews Group on December 1st. The Tribune claims that
AT&T failed to sell the newspaper to the Tribune managers because of
pressure from the Deseret News, which wanted a more agreeable partner
in its Joint Operating Agreement. The Tribune and the News have been
unable to agree on how much the News will pay to switch from
afternoon delivery of its newspaper to morning delivery.
In its suit, the Tribune claimed that the sale of the Tribune to
MediaNews would limit its voice and that the sale violated AT&T's
duty to act in good faith in its obligation to sell the newspaper to
them. The Tribune also claimed that the sale was a violation of a
preliminary contract to sell the newspaper to the Tribune and a
violation of the Tribune's option to buy the paper.
But Campbell said the evidence doesn't support any of these
allegations. During the trial MediaNews Group's W. Dean Singleton
testified before the court that he would maintain the newspaper's
independence. And Tribune Chief Operating Officer Randy Frisch noted
that Singleton promised to honor the Tribune's management contract to
operate the newspaper, "He said he would honor the management
agreement and we're taking him at his word and if not, we'll take him
to court."
Source:
Breaking news: Federal judge rejects effort to block Tribune sale
Deseret News (AP) 15Dec00 B4
Associated Press
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