Today's Mail Brings a Novelty

I'm used to receiving legal documents in the mail from people begging me to pay them money I owe them, but I've never had a creditor tell me they can't pay me. Then comes this from the owners of a certain daily fishwrap in Chicago to which I've occasionally contributed "content":

As an important supplier/vendor to Tribune Company [ed.: Thanks!], we are writing to inform you we have made a strategic decision to restructure our debt and to file for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. This business decision was necessary to strengthen Tribune's financial foundation for the future. Tribune will continue to operate while it restructures, and we are not going out of business.

Our partnership with our vendors is important to our success, and we are committed to maintaining strong relationships with our vendors for the long term.

We elected to file Chapter 11 in light of the dramatic and unexpected operating conditions we've encountered this year. We have had the perfect storm—a precipitous decline in revenue, and a tough economy coupled with a credit crisis that makes it extremely difficult to support our debt. Tribune is continuing to operate its media businesses, including its newspapers, television station and web sites.

The Bankruptcy Code provides a priority status for post-petition purchases, which means that we can and will pay for all goods and services received from your company after the date of the filing.... Unfortunately, bankruptcy law prohibits us from making payments from many goods purchased or services provided prior to the filing date at this time. Once a reorganization plan is developed and approved by the Bankruptcy Court, we will be authorized to make whatever payments or distributions are called for by that plan.

You will be notified when a deadline is set to file a Proof of Claim for any goods purchased or services provided prior to the filing. You can learn more about the company's filing at http://chapter11.epiqsystems.com/tribune. If you would like further explanation of the Chapter 11 process or have a specific question, please contact our vendor hotline at (888) 287-7568.

Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to working with you.

TRIBUNE COMPANY

In other news, a not-for-profit publication I've written for has informed me they can only afford to pay me a third of what they paid me last year. Welcome to the new era. Feel free to share your yuletide tales of financial woe in the comments.

Views expressed on this page are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Campaign for America's Future or Institute for America's Future