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CONFLICT AT TRIB TOWER: CEO RULES TWO ROOSTS; Stock's retreat casts harsh light on FitzSimons' double duty at company, McCormick Foundation.(News)(Tribune Co. (Chicago, Illinois))

Publication: Crain's Chicago Business
Publication Date: 22-MAY-06 		Format: Online
Delivery: Immediate Online Access

Article Excerpt
Byline: STEVEN R. STRAHLER

A steep plunge in Tribune Co. stock has exacerbated the conflict between the dual roles Dennis FitzSimons plays as CEO of the media conglomerate and chairman of the Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation.

Through the foundation, he controls enough Tribune shares to cushion the company against takeover pressures in a consolidating media industry. Disgruntled investors recently forced the sale of Knight Ridder Inc., another newspaper publisher facing the circulation woes and revenue declines bedeviling Tribune.

During his company's annual meeting earlier this month, Mr. FitzSimons noted that the foundation's 13.7% stake would complicate any bid to take over Tribune.

But protection for Mr. FitzSimons comes at the expense of the city's second-largest charitable organization, which had 97% of its assets in Tribune stock at the end of 2004, according to its most recent financial filing.

With Tribune shares down 47% since early 2004, the foundation's portfolio is shrinking fast. Assets dropped 19% in 2004 to $1.66 billion, and have almost certainly fallen further since.

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