The Tribune company has reported a big third quarter loss of $121.6 million due to decline in advertising revenue caused by economic slowdown, restructuring charges and a steep rise in interest costs. Operating revenues were down 10 per cent to $1 billion.

The Chicago based newspaper, which owns The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, Newsday, The Baltimore Sun and 23 television stations, among other properties as well as the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field, had posted a profit of $84 million on a net income of $152.8 million for the same quarter, a year earlier.

"We are operating in an exceptionally difficult financial and economic environment," said Tribune chairman-CEO Sam Zell in a statement. "The newspaper industry continues to see extraordinary declines in ad revenues, and Tribune is no exception," he added.

Last quarter it had reported a $4.5 billion loss, largely on a charge reflecting a decrease in the value of its assets, and advertising revenue had dropped 15 per cent. (See: Tribune publisher declares $4.5 billion Q2 loss on declining ad revenues) 

Tribune saw a 13 per cent decline in publishing revenues to $654 million compared to last year. Advertising revenues declined by 19 per cent or $111 million, compared with the year earlier. Its interactive revenues declined 7 per cent to $4 million.

The biggest ad declines came in the sectors which bore the brunt of the economic downturn -  retail outlets, furniture and hardware stores and department stores.

Tribune said that automobile advertising was also down, along with telecom services and movies. The largest revenue declines came from the Chicago Tribune, Hartford Courant and Los Angeles Times.

Revenue from the broadcasting division, which includes 23 TV stations, fell 8.3 per cent, to $264.4 million, from $288.3 million a year earlier.

It sold a 10 per cent interest in online jobs site CareerBuilder to Gannett for $135 million.

Tribune's declining earning was also due to the heavy debt load it took on last year when the company was taken private in an employee-ownership buyout for $8.2 billion led by Chicago real estate mogul Zell who became the chairman of the board and chief executive officer. (See: Tribune goes private; Sam Zell named chairman and CEO)  

Its debt load at the end of the third quarter stood at $11.8 billion and its interest burden reached $233 million for the quarter from $175 million a year ago.

Last month, in order to lower its debt load, it borrowed $250 million from an existing $750 million secured revolving credit facility. (See: L A Times parent draws $250-million credit amidst financial crisis; ends AP feed deal)

A year earlier, Tribune had $446 million in cash at hand while at the end of this quarter it had declined to $260 million.

It also took a $45 million charge linked to severance payments related to company-wide layoffs.

Since privatisation, the advertising income at its newspapers has plummeted and the company decided to meet the debt obligations by laying off newspaper staff, and started selling a series of its assets such as Newsday, and the iconic Chicago Tribune Tower and Los Angeles Times building.

It is also looking for buyers for its baseball team, Chicago Cubs and their stadium Wrigley Field.

The company wants to unload the team for about $1 billion in a way that minimizes taxes, but some think that under the current economic scenario, the price is unrealistic.

Bidders for the team include entrepreneur Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and Thomas Ricketts, president of corporate bond dealer Incapital LLC.