Tribune Co. owners are again casting around for candidates to lead the troubled media outfit, which has been in Chapter 11 for more than three years.
Former NBCUniversal boss Jeff Zucker is a leading candidate to run the debt-plagued newspaper and TV station company, sources said.
Zucker is currently executive producer of Katie Couric’s new syndicated show, “Katie,” for Disney. The show starts in September.
Zucker’s office didn’t return a call for comment.
It is not known whether the 47-year-old is interested in the gig. His name was also reported as a favorite of Third Point’s Daniel Loeb to run Yahoo! as CEO.
“They’re interested in Jeff Zucker,” said one source close to the Tribune bankruptcy process. “They want someone who has a lot of experience in television.”
Tribune houses not only the LA Times and Chicago Tribune but also 23 TV stations including New York’s WPIX, a CW affiliate.
Another candidate for the top job is Mark Shapiro, CEO of Dick Clark Productions. He is a native of Chicago, where Tribune is based, and a Tribune board member. Shapiro’s office didn’t return a call for comment.
Tribune could finally be headed for the end of its lengthy Chapter 11 process. It has an important date on Thursday in a Wilmington, Del., bankruptcy courtroom.
Lawyers are scheduled to appear before Judge Kevin Carey at 3:00 p.m. that day and again on Friday to present the fourth amendment to the reorganization and gain confirmation of the plan.
Tribune’s creditors include Angelo, Gordon & Co., Oaktree Capital Management, Aurelius Capital Management, JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank.
Lawyers have earned fees totaling $233.3 million since the bankruptcy process began in December 2008, according to a Bloomberg report.
Even if the judge agrees to the latest reorganization plan, Tribune must then begin the long process of asking the Federal Communications Commission to transfer its broadcast licenses to a new owner, the group of creditors. As that happens, a new board will be put in place and a new CEO can be named.
A spokesman for Tribune declined to comment on the company’s CEO search and the bankruptcy proceedings.