Tribune Co. Purges Publishers

Tribune Publishing Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, unveiled sweeping strategy and management changes Wednesday, less than a month after a new major investor took over as chairman.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the most substantial development involves merging the roles of publisher and editor at Tribune’s 11 dailies, jobs that the industry has traditionally kept separate to avoid the possibility of business matters affecting editorial decision making.

At all of its brands, which include the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Baltimore Sun, Orlando Sentinel, The Sun Sentinel in South Florida, The Allentown Morning Call and the Hartford Courant, current editors will assume the newly created dual roles.

The new Publishers & Editors-in-Chief are:

• Bruce Dold, Chicago Tribune
• Howard Saltz, Sun Sentinel
• Jeff Light, The San Diego Union-Tribune
• Avido Khahaifa, Orlando Sentinel
• Trif Alatzas, The Baltimore Sun
• Andrew Julien, Hartford Courant
• Dave Erdman, The Morning Call
• Marisa Porto, Daily Press

“These managers are in a unique position of understanding their local communities, having the trust of their readers and maintaining the highest standards of journalistic integrity, while implementing key initiatives that drive the business forward,” Chief Executive Justin Dearborn said in a call with analysts.

Last week, Tribune appointed Mr. Dearborn as CEO, succeeding Jack Griffin.

Media watchdogs said the decision to merge the publisher and editor roles marked a key evolution in the industry as traditional publishers struggle to transform their businesses into digitally focused news operations.