Why Zell should have seen the Trib debacle coming

[Commentary] Fortunately Sam Zell has such reserves of reputation that his image is likely to survive his debacle in the newspaper business. And debacle is a charitable word. Zell is the celebrated real-estate investor who, in 2007, led a buyout of the Tribune Co., owner of such papers as the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Baltimore Sun, along with 23 TV stations and (at the time) the Chicago Cubs. Less than a year later, the company was in Chapter 11. Now a special bankruptcy examiner has found a plausible suspicion of fraud on the part of Trib management in the original transaction. Boom. Blown up is management's latest plan to bring the company out of bankruptcy, partly thanks to a provision that would have indemnified Zell and Trib management from legal blowback from the original LBO deal. Zell, after four decades in business, deserves his stellar reputation based on his proven financial acumen, his healthy libertarian leanings and his discerning eye for Italian motorcycles. But the Trib deal was a mistake he walked right into.