Tribune, Tronc And Beyond: A Slur, A Secret Payout And A Looming Sale
Several months after taking control of the troubled Tribune Publishing Co. in 2016, Chicago investor Michael Ferro convened a session of corporate leaders from within his own news empire, including chief news executives from such storied papers as the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and The Baltimore Sun.
The group of about 20 people trooped from Chicago's iconic Tribune Tower on Michigan Avenue to an upscale restaurant nearby. In a private room, participants dined on seafood and steak while Ferro, then the company's chairman, held forth on his plans.
His own net worth was newly in the nine figures. Associates and peers say Ferro held ambitions that were wide-ranging, even audacious, given the newspaper industry's stiff headwinds.
At the dinner, as at other moments, Ferro railed against those who he felt were impeding him — including perceived rivals and competitors. Among them: the Southern California billionaire and civic leader Eli Broad, whom Ferro called part of a "Jewish cabal" that ran Los Angeles.
This account of the evening is based on interviews with two attendees who separately say they heard Ferro make those remarks. A spokesman for Ferro denied the incident occurred and called the claim "reckless allegations."
Early this year, however, Tribune Publishing made the first in a series of secret payments to total more than $2.5 million to avert a threatened lawsuit filed by a fired newspaper executive, according to three people with knowledge of the deal. That had the effect of keeping Ferro's anti-Semitic slur out of the public spotlight.
The payments, reported here for the first time, are stark embodiments of the consequences of Ferro's actions that contributed to a series of crises at Tribune Publishing. The LA Times has been sold. Tribune Publishing has put itself on the auction block and is reviewing three bids from potential buyers.
Ferro no arose involving his conduct outside Tribune Publishing.
