The Wall Street Journal
Lee Abrams, the Tribune Co. executive suspended earlier this week after sending an inappropriate memo to staff, resigned from his post as chief innovation officer.
Tribune Co. Chief Executive Randy Michaels announced the resignation, effective immediately, in a note to employees on Friday.
"As you know, earlier this week we suspended Lee Abrams from his position as Tribune Co.'s chief innovation officer for distributing an email and video link that some employees found offensive," Mr. Michaels wrote. "Today, Lee offered his resignation and I accepted it. Effective immediately, Lee will no longer be an employee of Tribune."
Mr. Abrams' resignation stems from a memo he sent to employees on Monday that included a link to a fake news segment from the Onion, a humor website. The link, labeled "Sluts," sent people to an Onion video depicting a reality-TV bus crash spilling "more than 2,000 pounds of slut."
Tribune announced on Wednesday it had suspended Mr. Abrams indefinitely and without pay while it "reviews the circumstances surrounding the email and video link he distributed on Monday."
Mr. Abrams was part of an executive team brought in after Tribune was taken private in 2007 in an $8.2 billion deal led by real-estate magnate Sam Zell. The deal ran into trouble almost from the start as sharp declines in advertising revenue at Tribune's newspapers heightened the financial pressure at a company saddled with about $13 billion in debt. Tribune filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2008.
Tribune remains stuck in bankruptcy proceedings that have dragged on for nearly two years. The company said it expects to file a plan in bankruptcy court by next Friday incorporating settlement agreements with unsecured creditors and major senior lenders.
Tribune Co. Chief Executive Randy Michaels announced the resignation, effective immediately, in a note to employees on Friday.
"As you know, earlier this week we suspended Lee Abrams from his position as Tribune Co.'s chief innovation officer for distributing an email and video link that some employees found offensive," Mr. Michaels wrote. "Today, Lee offered his resignation and I accepted it. Effective immediately, Lee will no longer be an employee of Tribune."
Mr. Abrams' resignation stems from a memo he sent to employees on Monday that included a link to a fake news segment from the Onion, a humor website. The link, labeled "Sluts," sent people to an Onion video depicting a reality-TV bus crash spilling "more than 2,000 pounds of slut."
Tribune announced on Wednesday it had suspended Mr. Abrams indefinitely and without pay while it "reviews the circumstances surrounding the email and video link he distributed on Monday."
Mr. Abrams was part of an executive team brought in after Tribune was taken private in 2007 in an $8.2 billion deal led by real-estate magnate Sam Zell. The deal ran into trouble almost from the start as sharp declines in advertising revenue at Tribune's newspapers heightened the financial pressure at a company saddled with about $13 billion in debt. Tribune filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2008.
Tribune remains stuck in bankruptcy proceedings that have dragged on for nearly two years. The company said it expects to file a plan in bankruptcy court by next Friday incorporating settlement agreements with unsecured creditors and major senior lenders.
