Shake-Up At Tribune Publishing

Tribune Publishing announced a shake-up of its leadership ranks Monday — less than three months after hedge fund Alden Global Capital became the company’s largest shareholder.

The Chicago Tribune reports Tim Knight, a longtime company executive who became CEO in January 2019, has been replaced by Terry Jimenez, Tribune Publishing’s chief financial officer. Knight will leave the company at the end of the month.

Tim Knight

Jimenez will take Knight’s seat on the board, the company said in a news release.

Also, board member Philip Franklin has replaced David Dreier as non-executive chairman. Dreier will remain on the board.

“These changes are a natural transition as Tribune Publishing works to reduce its corporate and back-office costs and streamline its real estate footprint,” Dreier said in the news release.

The change in leadership comes amid an employee buyout program to reduce head count and expenses. At the same time, some journalists at Tribune Publishing newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune and Baltimore Sun have launched independent efforts to find new owners in the face of an increasingly uncertain future under Alden.

Knight, 54, declined to comment Monday. His contract, which paid an annual salary of $600,000 plus up to a 100% cash bonus, was set to expire in January 2022.

Alden, a secretive New York hedge fund with a reputation for dramatic cost-cutting, took a 32% stake in Tribune Publishing in November, mostly by acquiring the stake of former Chairman Michael Ferro. Two Alden representatives subsequently were added to the newspaper company’s board, expanding it to eight members. As part of that agreement, Alden is restricted from increasing its stake in the company to more than 33% until June 30.

Terry Jimenez

Launched in 2007, Alden owns about 200 publications through an operating company now known as MediaNews Group, formerly Digital First Media. The chain has come under fire for sweeping layoffs at its newspapers, including major dailies such as the Denver Post, San Jose Mercury News and the St. Paul Pioneer Press, as well as smaller weeklies.

Last month, Tribune Publishing offered voluntary buyouts to employees with eight or more years of experience, which based on participation is designed to “avoid turning to company-wide reductions of the workforce as a last resort,” Knight said in a January email to employees.

Tribune Publishing had about 4,100 full-time employees at the end of 2019, according to the company.

The newspaper industry has struggled to compete in the digital media age. Revenue has been cut in half between 2008 and 2018 because of a precipitous decline in print advertising, according to data from Pew Research. During that same time, newsroom employment declined 25%.