More Tribune Co. executives heading for the exit
Reporting from Chicago — In the wake of last month’s resignation of Tribune Co. Chief Executive Randy Michaels, some other top-level executives are headed out the door.
Tribune Interactive President Marc Chase, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Kapugi and Executive Vice President Carolyn Gilbert — longtime associates of Michaels — are leaving the company, according to people familiar with the situation.
Gilbert and Kapugi confirmed their departures from Tribune’s digital division Monday. Chase could not be reached for comment. A Tribune spokesman declined to comment.
Chase, Kapugi and Gilbert are among the highest ranking of Michaels’ colleagues at Jacor Communications Inc. and Clear Channel Communications Inc. to leave Tribune since a four-member executive council replaced Michaels on Oct. 22. Others are expected to follow.
John Phillips, a former on-air Clear Channel radio traffic reporter, plans to leave his post as director of facilities in Tribune Tower, home to the company’s headquarters as well as its flagship newspaper, the Chicago Tribune. Betsy Phillips, his wife, is exiting her position as a vice president of sales for Tribune Broadcasting, sources said.
It was John Phillips who on Facebook posted photos of an after-hours poker party that Michaels hosted in the former office of longtime Tribune leader Col. Robert R. McCormick. The posting included captions noting that the players “pretty much desecrated it with gambling, booze and cigars.”
That contributed to the image of a “frat house” atmosphere at Tribune under Michaels, which, in the end, undercut his ability to lead the company trying to steer itself out from bankruptcy for the last 22 months.
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