Tronc Probe Clears LAT Pub Ross Levinsohn

Ross Levinsohn

Los Angeles Times Publisher and Chief Executive Ross Levinsohn has been cleared of wrongdoing following an investigation into his conduct, and he will move into a new role within the paper's parent company, the LATimes reports citing a Tronc announced Wednesday.

Levinsohn has been on unpaid leave since Jan. 19 following a report by National Public Radio that he was the defendant in two sexual harassment lawsuits. NPR said Levinsohn engaged in "frat-boy" behavior when he was an executive at other media companies. It said he testified that he had rated the "hotness" of female colleagues and speculated whether a female subordinate had a side job as a stripper.

Tronc said Wednesday that Levinsohn will become chief executive of Tribune Interactive, a business unit that Tronc plans to form following the sale of The Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune to Los Angeles billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong. In an SEC filing Wednesday, the company also noted that Levinsohn stepped down as publisher and chief executive of The Times.

Tronc separately announced the $500-million agreement to sell The Times and Union-Tribune to Soon-Shiong's investment firm, Nant Capital. That deal is expected to close in March or April, Tronc said.

The Chicago company also announced that Levinsohn would be returning to Tronc after the nearly three-week review.

"Following an independent investigation and a report to the board of directors finding no wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Levinsohn, the board determined to reinstate Mr. Levinsohn and appoint him chief executive officer of Tribune Interactive," the company said in a statement.

Levinsohn, 54, served as The Times' publisher for five months. He was the paper's 17th publisher and the fifth in the last decade.