Tribune Co. making moves to possibly sell papers

About to emerge from bankruptcy later this month, the parent company of the LAT is looking for an adviser to arrange a sale of its newspapers, Bloomberg is reporting, citing sources. News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch plans to take a close look once the properties become available, according to the Bloomberg story. That's not to say that a sale of the Times is necessarily imminent (the new owners might focus on the smaller properties first), but it does suggest that the papers are not part of Tribune's long-range plans. From Bloomberg:

Murdoch, 81, has expressed interest internally at looking at some of Tribune's bigger-market newspapers, according to one of the people. News Corp. is splitting into two companies, with one focused on entertainment and the other on newspapers and publishing. The new publishing company, which will start off with a debt-free balance sheet, may give Murdoch more latitude to pursue newspaper acquisitions, the person said.