Chief justice stresses need for judges, funds despite US fiscal strain

Mon Dec 31, 2012 5:59pm EST

* Roberts cites "fiscal cliff," says US budget "gone awry"

* Says federal courts are trying to cut costs

By Jonathan Stempel

Dec 31 (Reuters) - U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday called on the White House and Congress to provide sufficient funding and enough judges to ensure that the federal judiciary can do its job well despite the fiscal problems the country faces.

In his annual report on the federal judiciary, Roberts recognized the battle in Washington over the "fiscal cliff," saying the country has a fiscal ledger that has "gone awry" and must address the longer-term problem of a "truly extravagant and burgeoning national debt."

He said the judiciary has been doing its part to cut costs aggressively, but can only go so far given that it cannot choose its caseload or economize much further without reducing the quality of its services.

Roberts noted the efforts of some courts to stay open after Hurricane Sandy, with the Manhattan federal court working without heat and under sparse light from emergency generators a day after the storm struck in late October.

"A significant and prolonged shortfall in judicial funding would inevitably result in the delay or denial of justice for the people the courts serve," he wrote. "I therefore encourage the President and Congress to be especially attentive to the needs of the Judicial Branch and provide the resources necessary for its operations."

FILLING VACANCIES

One need is judicial vacancies, which can be harder to fill amid partisan divides in Washington.

Democratic President Barack Obama has won confirmation of 172 nominees to the federal bench, compared with 205 that his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, got over the same period in his first term, according to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

There are now 75 federal court vacancies, up from 55 when Obama took office in 2009, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Twenty-seven of these vacancies have been deemed "judicial emergencies" by the Judicial Conference of the United States, based on case backlogs and duration.

That includes one judgeship that has been unfilled for eight years, and Roberts' own former seat on the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., which has been vacant since he was elevated to the Supreme Court in 2005.

Roberts urged the White House and Congress to act diligently in confirming high-quality candidates to fill these vacancies.

Obama has nominated Caitlin Halligan, general counsel to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, for Roberts' old seat.

FRACTION OF A CENT

Roberts said the Judicial Conference, then led by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, had adopted an aggressive cost-cutting strategy in 2004.

He said such efforts remain necessary given that federal judiciary, one of three U.S. government branches, received an appropriation of $6.97 billion for 2012 - a "miniscule" 0.2 cents of each dollar in the nation's $3.7 trillion budget.

The chief justice also said frugality begins at home, noting that the Supreme Court will seek $74.89 million of funding for its 2014 fiscal year, down 1 percent to 4 percent from each of the three prior years.

Cutbacks are needed even though most federal court caseloads have not changed appreciably, based on data provided by Roberts.

While case filings in district courts fell 5 percent this year to 372,563, filings in regional appeals courts rose 4 percent to 57,501. Supreme Court filings fell 2 percent to 7,713, and bankruptcy filings fell 14 percent to 1,261,140.

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CORRECTED-Chief justice stresses need for judges, funds despite US fiscal strain

Mon Dec 31, 2012 7:52pm EST

(Corrects paragraphs 10-11 to make clear Roberts urged judicial emergencies be addressed)

* Roberts cites "fiscal cliff," says US budget "gone awry"

* Says federal courts are trying to cut costs

By Jonathan Stempel

Dec 31 (Reuters) - U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday called on the White House and Congress to provide sufficient funding and enough judges to ensure that the federal judiciary can do its job well despite the fiscal problems the country faces.

In his annual report on the federal judiciary, Roberts recognized the battle in Washington over the "fiscal cliff," saying the country has a fiscal ledger that has "gone awry" and must address the longer-term problem of a "truly extravagant and burgeoning national debt."

He said the judiciary has been doing its part to cut costs aggressively, but can only go so far given that it cannot choose its caseload or economize much further without reducing the quality of its services.

Roberts noted the efforts of some courts to stay open after Hurricane Sandy, with the Manhattan federal court working without heat and under sparse light from emergency generators a day after the storm struck in late October.

"A significant and prolonged shortfall in judicial funding would inevitably result in the delay or denial of justice for the people the courts serve," he wrote. "I therefore encourage the President and Congress to be especially attentive to the needs of the Judicial Branch and provide the resources necessary for its operations."

FILLING VACANCIES

One need is judicial vacancies, which can be harder to fill amid partisan divides in Washington.

Democratic President Barack Obama has won confirmation of 172 nominees to the federal bench, compared with 205 that his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, got over the same period in his first term, according to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

There are now 75 federal court vacancies, up from 55 when Obama took office in 2009, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Twenty-seven of these vacancies have been deemed "judicial emergencies" by the Judicial Conference of the United States, based on case backlogs and duration.

Roberts urged the White House and Congress to act diligently in confirming high-quality candidates to fill these vacancies.

The 75 vacancies include one judgeship that has been unfilled for eight years as well as R oberts' own former seat on the federal appeals court in Washington, which has been vacant since he was elevated to the Supreme Court in 2005.

Obama has nominated Caitlin Halligan, general counsel to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, for Roberts' old seat.

FRACTION OF A CENT

Roberts said the Judicial Conference, then led by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, had adopted an aggressive cost-cutting strategy in 2004.

He said such efforts remain necessary given that federal judiciary, one of three U.S. government branches, received an appropriation of $6.97 billion for 2012 - a "miniscule" 0.2 cents of each dollar in the nation's $3.7 trillion budget.

The chief justice also said frugality begins at home, noting that the Supreme Court will seek $74.89 million of funding for its 2014 fiscal year, down 1 percent to 4 percent from each of the three prior years.

Cutbacks are needed even though most federal court caseloads have not changed appreciably, based on data provided by Roberts.

While case filings in district courts fell 5 percent this year to 372,563, filings in regional appeals courts rose 4 percent to 57,501. Supreme Court filings fell 2 percent to 7,713, and bankruptcy filings fell 14 percent to 1,261,140. (Reporting By Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

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Polimex to cut costs more than planned - CEO in paper

WARSAW | Thu Jan 3, 2013 3:02am EST

WARSAW Jan 3 (Reuters) - Polish builder Polimex is targeting larger-than-planned cost cuts and will have its debt on track by the end of June, its chief executive was quoted as saying on Thursday.

Last month, Polimex clinched a debt restructuring deal with creditors and bondholders under which state industrial agency ARP will buy up to a third of the builder.

Polimex has said it would sell non-core assets worth at least 600 million zlotys ($195 million) and cut operating costs at least 300 million by the end of 2015.

CEO Robert Oppenheim told the daily Parkiet that the builder has already signed deals to sell assets worth 221 million zlotys, adding cost cuts will be significantly larger than previously envisaged.

Polimex, a leading construction group that is also involved in major state energy contracts, ran into trouble last year after a road-building bonanza left many builders saddled with loss-making contracts and huge debts. ($1 = 3.0745 zlotys) (Reporting by Adrian Krajewski; Editing by Dan Lalor)

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Tribune, out of Chapter 11, set to begin makeover as TV company

By Jennifer Saba and Liana B. Baker

Mon Dec 31, 2012 2:45pm EST

Dec 31 (Reuters) - Tribune Co, which started by publishing the Chicago Tribune on a hand press in 1847, sees a future in broadcasting, one not likely to include the major newspapers that made it a force in the news business.

Now that it has formally emerged from a four-year bankruptcy, Tribune is expected to concentrate on its WGN America cable network and a 23-station TV group it tried to fashion into its own broadcast network in the mid-1990s.

Toward that end, Reuters reported earlier in December, the company, whose board has been stocked with former TV executives, will soon begin the process of selling off its eight major market papers.

Tribune's controlling owners, which include JPMorgan Chase & Co and hedge funds Oaktree Capital Management and Angelo, Gordon & Co, intend to sell most, if not all, of the newspapers. Tribune has already received expressions of interest in the Los Angeles Times, the Orlando Sentinel and others

Oaktree is the biggest Tribune shareholder, owning about 23 percent of the company, while Angelo, Gordon and JPMorgan each hold a 9 percent stake.

Tribune's papers have been at the epicenter of the newspaper industry's declining fortunes in recent years. And their problems intensified after real estate magnate Sam Zell took Tribune Co private in an $8.2 billion leveraged buyout five years ago.

Over that period, plummeting advertising and circulation have hit the newspaper industry hard. The industry's ad revenue fell by nearly half to $24 billion, and daily circulation fell 10 percent to roughly 40 million copies, according to the Newspaper Association of America.

"What we have seen in the Tribune in the Zell tenure is a reflection of the demise of the American metro newspaper and its uncertain prospects going forward," said Ken Doctor, an analyst with Outsell Research, a consultancy based in Burlingame, California.

Still, the newspaper industry could be reshaped as moguls like Warren Buffett and Rupert Murdoch seek to build newspaper chains in the United States, even as storied publishers like Tribune and Knight Ridder exit the sector.

Murdoch, Orange County Register owner Aaron Kushner and the San Diego Union-Tribune publisher Doug Manchester are interested in Tribune's publishing assets, sources told Reuters.

Buffett recently said he is interested in adding The Morning Call, a Tribune paper in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to his growing stable of papers.

Tribune's newspapers remain profitable despite the falloff in readers and advertising. Veteran newspaper analyst John Morton said the Los Angeles Times could fetch $130 million at an auction, while the Chicago Tribune could garner $86 million.

But with the industry still struggling to find its footing, and depending on the number of bidders, those prices could fluctuate wildly, Morton said. Newspapers in general have lost roughly two-thirds of their value over the past five years, he said.

"Even though the profitability of newspapers is low, if the price gets low enough it becomes an attractive investment," said Morton.

"The important thing about the Tribune's newspapers are that they are iconic brands in America even though they are struggling financially. They have a lot of cultural and political power," Doctor said.

NEW OWNERS TO FOCUS ON BROADCAST

Peter Liguori, a member of Tribune's newly created board who formerly held top jobs at Discovery Communications and News Corp, is expected to be named chief executive.

Liguori, who has a solid track record in TV programming, is the kind of executive who should be able to improve WGN's ratings and perhaps help the network command higher carriage fees, said Horizon media analyst Brad Adgate.

The company likely will fashion a strategy around WGN America, a national feed of Tribune's Chicago TV stations that Tribune repackages as a super-station and distributes through cable and satellite to more than 76 million homes.

Adgate said that WGN America is not "a must buy network right now," for cable and satellite operators to carry but it has the potential to reach another 20 million to 25 million homes if it adds original programming to its lineup.

"If WGN puts on original shows, whether its reality or scripted, the chance of getting a spike in ratings is higher," Adgate said.

WGN America collects 19 cents a month for each cable or satellite home in which it appears, more than Viacom's VHI and BET channels, according to consultants SNL Kagan. WGN can also sell high priced national ads.

Adgate said WGN already has some programming that is attractive to advertisers, especially its live broadcasts of professional sports in Chicago such as Chicago Cubs baseball and Chicago Bulls basketball.

Tribune also has built digital channel Antenna TV. It now has 71 affiliates, including TV stations owned by Gannett and Media General, and delivers broadcasts of old shows like "Leave it to Beaver," "Barney Miller" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" that Tribune says reaches more than 61 percent of the country.

Its TV assets include local stations in the nation's three largest markets, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, which advertisers covet. The station group reaches 80 percent of U.S. households, according to its website. In 1995, Tribune tried to use its local station to create its own TV network.

Tribune's TV operations are estimated to account for $2.85 billion of the company's $7 billion valuation, while its publishing assets are estimated to represent $623 million, according to report by its financial adviser Lazard. The rest of its value resides in other assets, including its 30 percent stake in the Food Network and its cash balance.

THE DEAL FROM HELL

Tribune was forced into bankruptcy in 2008 not because of the flagging fortunes of its newspapers, but because Zell saddled the company with too much debt just as the industry was hitting a downturn, Morton says.

Zell stunned the media industry when he took the company private in 2007 in an $8.2 billion leveraged buyout that burdened the company with debt and that many observers warned would be disastrous.

In a memo to employees after the company filed for bankruptcy, Zell wrote: "It has been, to say the least, the perfect storm. A precipitous decline in revenue and a tough economy have coupled with a credit crisis, making it extremely difficult to support our debt."

The bankruptcy was an especially messy one. The "deal from hell," as Zell eventually described the leveraged buyout, became a quagmire of lawsuits over who was to blame for the bankruptcy and Tribune's $13 billion of debt.

Zell's tenure had some positives, say some outside the company.

Outsell analyst Doctor said that under Zell the company created a centralized hub in Chicago for its national editorial coverage and made its advertising production more efficient.

However the four-year bankruptcy proceeding distracted the company, holding back innovation due to the uncertainty of its outcome, according to Doctor.

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Chief justice stresses need for judges, funds despite US fiscal strain

Mon Dec 31, 2012 5:59pm EST

* Roberts cites "fiscal cliff," says US budget "gone awry"

* Says federal courts are trying to cut costs

By Jonathan Stempel

Dec 31 (Reuters) - U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday called on the White House and Congress to provide sufficient funding and enough judges to ensure that the federal judiciary can do its job well despite the fiscal problems the country faces.

In his annual report on the federal judiciary, Roberts recognized the battle in Washington over the "fiscal cliff," saying the country has a fiscal ledger that has "gone awry" and must address the longer-term problem of a "truly extravagant and burgeoning national debt."

He said the judiciary has been doing its part to cut costs aggressively, but can only go so far given that it cannot choose its caseload or economize much further without reducing the quality of its services.

Roberts noted the efforts of some courts to stay open after Hurricane Sandy, with the Manhattan federal court working without heat and under sparse light from emergency generators a day after the storm struck in late October.

"A significant and prolonged shortfall in judicial funding would inevitably result in the delay or denial of justice for the people the courts serve," he wrote. "I therefore encourage the President and Congress to be especially attentive to the needs of the Judicial Branch and provide the resources necessary for its operations."

FILLING VACANCIES

One need is judicial vacancies, which can be harder to fill amid partisan divides in Washington.

Democratic President Barack Obama has won confirmation of 172 nominees to the federal bench, compared with 205 that his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, got over the same period in his first term, according to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

There are now 75 federal court vacancies, up from 55 when Obama took office in 2009, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Twenty-seven of these vacancies have been deemed "judicial emergencies" by the Judicial Conference of the United States, based on case backlogs and duration.

That includes one judgeship that has been unfilled for eight years, and Roberts' own former seat on the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., which has been vacant since he was elevated to the Supreme Court in 2005.

Roberts urged the White House and Congress to act diligently in confirming high-quality candidates to fill these vacancies.

Obama has nominated Caitlin Halligan, general counsel to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, for Roberts' old seat.

FRACTION OF A CENT

Roberts said the Judicial Conference, then led by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, had adopted an aggressive cost-cutting strategy in 2004.

He said such efforts remain necessary given that federal judiciary, one of three U.S. government branches, received an appropriation of $6.97 billion for 2012 - a "miniscule" 0.2 cents of each dollar in the nation's $3.7 trillion budget.

The chief justice also said frugality begins at home, noting that the Supreme Court will seek $74.89 million of funding for its 2014 fiscal year, down 1 percent to 4 percent from each of the three prior years.

Cutbacks are needed even though most federal court caseloads have not changed appreciably, based on data provided by Roberts.

While case filings in district courts fell 5 percent this year to 372,563, filings in regional appeals courts rose 4 percent to 57,501. Supreme Court filings fell 2 percent to 7,713, and bankruptcy filings fell 14 percent to 1,261,140.

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CORRECTED-Chief justice stresses need for judges, funds despite US fiscal strain

Mon Dec 31, 2012 7:52pm EST

(Corrects paragraphs 10-11 to make clear Roberts urged judicial emergencies be addressed)

* Roberts cites "fiscal cliff," says US budget "gone awry"

* Says federal courts are trying to cut costs

By Jonathan Stempel

Dec 31 (Reuters) - U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday called on the White House and Congress to provide sufficient funding and enough judges to ensure that the federal judiciary can do its job well despite the fiscal problems the country faces.

In his annual report on the federal judiciary, Roberts recognized the battle in Washington over the "fiscal cliff," saying the country has a fiscal ledger that has "gone awry" and must address the longer-term problem of a "truly extravagant and burgeoning national debt."

He said the judiciary has been doing its part to cut costs aggressively, but can only go so far given that it cannot choose its caseload or economize much further without reducing the quality of its services.

Roberts noted the efforts of some courts to stay open after Hurricane Sandy, with the Manhattan federal court working without heat and under sparse light from emergency generators a day after the storm struck in late October.

"A significant and prolonged shortfall in judicial funding would inevitably result in the delay or denial of justice for the people the courts serve," he wrote. "I therefore encourage the President and Congress to be especially attentive to the needs of the Judicial Branch and provide the resources necessary for its operations."

FILLING VACANCIES

One need is judicial vacancies, which can be harder to fill amid partisan divides in Washington.

Democratic President Barack Obama has won confirmation of 172 nominees to the federal bench, compared with 205 that his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, got over the same period in his first term, according to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

There are now 75 federal court vacancies, up from 55 when Obama took office in 2009, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Twenty-seven of these vacancies have been deemed "judicial emergencies" by the Judicial Conference of the United States, based on case backlogs and duration.

Roberts urged the White House and Congress to act diligently in confirming high-quality candidates to fill these vacancies.

The 75 vacancies include one judgeship that has been unfilled for eight years as well as R oberts' own former seat on the federal appeals court in Washington, which has been vacant since he was elevated to the Supreme Court in 2005.

Obama has nominated Caitlin Halligan, general counsel to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, for Roberts' old seat.

FRACTION OF A CENT

Roberts said the Judicial Conference, then led by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, had adopted an aggressive cost-cutting strategy in 2004.

He said such efforts remain necessary given that federal judiciary, one of three U.S. government branches, received an appropriation of $6.97 billion for 2012 - a "miniscule" 0.2 cents of each dollar in the nation's $3.7 trillion budget.

The chief justice also said frugality begins at home, noting that the Supreme Court will seek $74.89 million of funding for its 2014 fiscal year, down 1 percent to 4 percent from each of the three prior years.

Cutbacks are needed even though most federal court caseloads have not changed appreciably, based on data provided by Roberts.

While case filings in district courts fell 5 percent this year to 372,563, filings in regional appeals courts rose 4 percent to 57,501. Supreme Court filings fell 2 percent to 7,713, and bankruptcy filings fell 14 percent to 1,261,140. (Reporting By Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

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Tribune, out of Chapter 11, set to begin makeover as TV company

By Jennifer Saba and Liana B. Baker

Mon Dec 31, 2012 2:45pm EST

Dec 31 (Reuters) - Tribune Co, which started by publishing the Chicago Tribune on a hand press in 1847, sees a future in broadcasting, one not likely to include the major newspapers that made it a force in the news business.

Now that it has formally emerged from a four-year bankruptcy, Tribune is expected to concentrate on its WGN America cable network and a 23-station TV group it tried to fashion into its own broadcast network in the mid-1990s.

Toward that end, Reuters reported earlier in December, the company, whose board has been stocked with former TV executives, will soon begin the process of selling off its eight major market papers.

Tribune's controlling owners, which include JPMorgan Chase & Co and hedge funds Oaktree Capital Management and Angelo, Gordon & Co, intend to sell most, if not all, of the newspapers. Tribune has already received expressions of interest in the Los Angeles Times, the Orlando Sentinel and others

Oaktree is the biggest Tribune shareholder, owning about 23 percent of the company, while Angelo, Gordon and JPMorgan each hold a 9 percent stake.

Tribune's papers have been at the epicenter of the newspaper industry's declining fortunes in recent years. And their problems intensified after real estate magnate Sam Zell took Tribune Co private in an $8.2 billion leveraged buyout five years ago.

Over that period, plummeting advertising and circulation have hit the newspaper industry hard. The industry's ad revenue fell by nearly half to $24 billion, and daily circulation fell 10 percent to roughly 40 million copies, according to the Newspaper Association of America.

"What we have seen in the Tribune in the Zell tenure is a reflection of the demise of the American metro newspaper and its uncertain prospects going forward," said Ken Doctor, an analyst with Outsell Research, a consultancy based in Burlingame, California.

Still, the newspaper industry could be reshaped as moguls like Warren Buffett and Rupert Murdoch seek to build newspaper chains in the United States, even as storied publishers like Tribune and Knight Ridder exit the sector.

Murdoch, Orange County Register owner Aaron Kushner and the San Diego Union-Tribune publisher Doug Manchester are interested in Tribune's publishing assets, sources told Reuters.

Buffett recently said he is interested in adding The Morning Call, a Tribune paper in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to his growing stable of papers.

Tribune's newspapers remain profitable despite the falloff in readers and advertising. Veteran newspaper analyst John Morton said the Los Angeles Times could fetch $130 million at an auction, while the Chicago Tribune could garner $86 million.

But with the industry still struggling to find its footing, and depending on the number of bidders, those prices could fluctuate wildly, Morton said. Newspapers in general have lost roughly two-thirds of their value over the past five years, he said.

"Even though the profitability of newspapers is low, if the price gets low enough it becomes an attractive investment," said Morton.

"The important thing about the Tribune's newspapers are that they are iconic brands in America even though they are struggling financially. They have a lot of cultural and political power," Doctor said.

NEW OWNERS TO FOCUS ON BROADCAST

Peter Liguori, a member of Tribune's newly created board who formerly held top jobs at Discovery Communications and News Corp, is expected to be named chief executive.

Liguori, who has a solid track record in TV programming, is the kind of executive who should be able to improve WGN's ratings and perhaps help the network command higher carriage fees, said Horizon media analyst Brad Adgate.

The company likely will fashion a strategy around WGN America, a national feed of Tribune's Chicago TV stations that Tribune repackages as a super-station and distributes through cable and satellite to more than 76 million homes.

Adgate said that WGN America is not "a must buy network right now," for cable and satellite operators to carry but it has the potential to reach another 20 million to 25 million homes if it adds original programming to its lineup.

"If WGN puts on original shows, whether its reality or scripted, the chance of getting a spike in ratings is higher," Adgate said.

WGN America collects 19 cents a month for each cable or satellite home in which it appears, more than Viacom's VHI and BET channels, according to consultants SNL Kagan. WGN can also sell high priced national ads.

Adgate said WGN already has some programming that is attractive to advertisers, especially its live broadcasts of professional sports in Chicago such as Chicago Cubs baseball and Chicago Bulls basketball.

Tribune also has built digital channel Antenna TV. It now has 71 affiliates, including TV stations owned by Gannett and Media General, and delivers broadcasts of old shows like "Leave it to Beaver," "Barney Miller" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" that Tribune says reaches more than 61 percent of the country.

Its TV assets include local stations in the nation's three largest markets, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, which advertisers covet. The station group reaches 80 percent of U.S. households, according to its website. In 1995, Tribune tried to use its local station to create its own TV network.

Tribune's TV operations are estimated to account for $2.85 billion of the company's $7 billion valuation, while its publishing assets are estimated to represent $623 million, according to report by its financial adviser Lazard. The rest of its value resides in other assets, including its 30 percent stake in the Food Network and its cash balance.

THE DEAL FROM HELL

Tribune was forced into bankruptcy in 2008 not because of the flagging fortunes of its newspapers, but because Zell saddled the company with too much debt just as the industry was hitting a downturn, Morton says.

Zell stunned the media industry when he took the company private in 2007 in an $8.2 billion leveraged buyout that burdened the company with debt and that many observers warned would be disastrous.

In a memo to employees after the company filed for bankruptcy, Zell wrote: "It has been, to say the least, the perfect storm. A precipitous decline in revenue and a tough economy have coupled with a credit crisis, making it extremely difficult to support our debt."

The bankruptcy was an especially messy one. The "deal from hell," as Zell eventually described the leveraged buyout, became a quagmire of lawsuits over who was to blame for the bankruptcy and Tribune's $13 billion of debt.

Zell's tenure had some positives, say some outside the company.

Outsell analyst Doctor said that under Zell the company created a centralized hub in Chicago for its national editorial coverage and made its advertising production more efficient.

However the four-year bankruptcy proceeding distracted the company, holding back innovation due to the uncertainty of its outcome, according to Doctor.

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Chief justice stresses need for judges, funds despite US fiscal strain

Mon Dec 31, 2012 5:59pm EST

* Roberts cites "fiscal cliff," says US budget "gone awry"

* Says federal courts are trying to cut costs

By Jonathan Stempel

Dec 31 (Reuters) - U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday called on the White House and Congress to provide sufficient funding and enough judges to ensure that the federal judiciary can do its job well despite the fiscal problems the country faces.

In his annual report on the federal judiciary, Roberts recognized the battle in Washington over the "fiscal cliff," saying the country has a fiscal ledger that has "gone awry" and must address the longer-term problem of a "truly extravagant and burgeoning national debt."

He said the judiciary has been doing its part to cut costs aggressively, but can only go so far given that it cannot choose its caseload or economize much further without reducing the quality of its services.

Roberts noted the efforts of some courts to stay open after Hurricane Sandy, with the Manhattan federal court working without heat and under sparse light from emergency generators a day after the storm struck in late October.

"A significant and prolonged shortfall in judicial funding would inevitably result in the delay or denial of justice for the people the courts serve," he wrote. "I therefore encourage the President and Congress to be especially attentive to the needs of the Judicial Branch and provide the resources necessary for its operations."

FILLING VACANCIES

One need is judicial vacancies, which can be harder to fill amid partisan divides in Washington.

Democratic President Barack Obama has won confirmation of 172 nominees to the federal bench, compared with 205 that his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, got over the same period in his first term, according to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

There are now 75 federal court vacancies, up from 55 when Obama took office in 2009, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Twenty-seven of these vacancies have been deemed "judicial emergencies" by the Judicial Conference of the United States, based on case backlogs and duration.

That includes one judgeship that has been unfilled for eight years, and Roberts' own former seat on the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., which has been vacant since he was elevated to the Supreme Court in 2005.

Roberts urged the White House and Congress to act diligently in confirming high-quality candidates to fill these vacancies.

Obama has nominated Caitlin Halligan, general counsel to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, for Roberts' old seat.

FRACTION OF A CENT

Roberts said the Judicial Conference, then led by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, had adopted an aggressive cost-cutting strategy in 2004.

He said such efforts remain necessary given that federal judiciary, one of three U.S. government branches, received an appropriation of $6.97 billion for 2012 - a "miniscule" 0.2 cents of each dollar in the nation's $3.7 trillion budget.

The chief justice also said frugality begins at home, noting that the Supreme Court will seek $74.89 million of funding for its 2014 fiscal year, down 1 percent to 4 percent from each of the three prior years.

Cutbacks are needed even though most federal court caseloads have not changed appreciably, based on data provided by Roberts.

While case filings in district courts fell 5 percent this year to 372,563, filings in regional appeals courts rose 4 percent to 57,501. Supreme Court filings fell 2 percent to 7,713, and bankruptcy filings fell 14 percent to 1,261,140.

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CORRECTED-Chief justice stresses need for judges, funds despite US fiscal strain

Mon Dec 31, 2012 7:52pm EST

(Corrects paragraphs 10-11 to make clear Roberts urged judicial emergencies be addressed)

* Roberts cites "fiscal cliff," says US budget "gone awry"

* Says federal courts are trying to cut costs

By Jonathan Stempel

Dec 31 (Reuters) - U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday called on the White House and Congress to provide sufficient funding and enough judges to ensure that the federal judiciary can do its job well despite the fiscal problems the country faces.

In his annual report on the federal judiciary, Roberts recognized the battle in Washington over the "fiscal cliff," saying the country has a fiscal ledger that has "gone awry" and must address the longer-term problem of a "truly extravagant and burgeoning national debt."

He said the judiciary has been doing its part to cut costs aggressively, but can only go so far given that it cannot choose its caseload or economize much further without reducing the quality of its services.

Roberts noted the efforts of some courts to stay open after Hurricane Sandy, with the Manhattan federal court working without heat and under sparse light from emergency generators a day after the storm struck in late October.

"A significant and prolonged shortfall in judicial funding would inevitably result in the delay or denial of justice for the people the courts serve," he wrote. "I therefore encourage the President and Congress to be especially attentive to the needs of the Judicial Branch and provide the resources necessary for its operations."

FILLING VACANCIES

One need is judicial vacancies, which can be harder to fill amid partisan divides in Washington.

Democratic President Barack Obama has won confirmation of 172 nominees to the federal bench, compared with 205 that his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, got over the same period in his first term, according to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

There are now 75 federal court vacancies, up from 55 when Obama took office in 2009, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Twenty-seven of these vacancies have been deemed "judicial emergencies" by the Judicial Conference of the United States, based on case backlogs and duration.

Roberts urged the White House and Congress to act diligently in confirming high-quality candidates to fill these vacancies.

The 75 vacancies include one judgeship that has been unfilled for eight years as well as R oberts' own former seat on the federal appeals court in Washington, which has been vacant since he was elevated to the Supreme Court in 2005.

Obama has nominated Caitlin Halligan, general counsel to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, for Roberts' old seat.

FRACTION OF A CENT

Roberts said the Judicial Conference, then led by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, had adopted an aggressive cost-cutting strategy in 2004.

He said such efforts remain necessary given that federal judiciary, one of three U.S. government branches, received an appropriation of $6.97 billion for 2012 - a "miniscule" 0.2 cents of each dollar in the nation's $3.7 trillion budget.

The chief justice also said frugality begins at home, noting that the Supreme Court will seek $74.89 million of funding for its 2014 fiscal year, down 1 percent to 4 percent from each of the three prior years.

Cutbacks are needed even though most federal court caseloads have not changed appreciably, based on data provided by Roberts.

While case filings in district courts fell 5 percent this year to 372,563, filings in regional appeals courts rose 4 percent to 57,501. Supreme Court filings fell 2 percent to 7,713, and bankruptcy filings fell 14 percent to 1,261,140. (Reporting By Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

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Publisher Tribune to emerge from bankruptcy on Dec. 31

Sun Dec 30, 2012 11:29pm EST

Dec 31 (Reuters) - U.S. media giant The Tribune Co, owner of the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, said late on Sunday it will emerge from bankruptcy on Dec. 31, ending four years of Chapter 11 reorganization.

Chicago-based Tribune said it will emerge from the Chapter 11 process with a portfolio of profitable assets that will include eight major daily newspapers and 23 TV stations. The company will also have a new board of directors.

As part of the Chapter 11 exit, the company will close on a new $1.1 billion senior secured term loan and a new $300 million asset-based revolving credit facility.

The term loan will be used to fund certain payments under the plan of reorganization and the revolving credit facility will be used to fund ongoing operations, the company said.

Upon exiting bankruptcy, Tribune will have issued to former creditors a mix of about 100 million shares of new class A common stock and new class B common stock and new warrants to purchase shares of new class A or class B common stock.

The current chief executive officer, Eddy Hartenstein, will remain in his role until the new board ratifies the company's executive officers.

In November, Tribune received regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to transfer its broadcast licenses to the owners who will take over the company when it emerges from bankruptcy.

The company's plan of reorganization was confirmed by the Delaware bankruptcy court in July. Tribune's emergence from bankruptcy was conditional on the FCC approving the transfer of the broadcast licenses to new owners.

The case is In re: Tribune Co et al, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. 08-13141.

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