CHICAGO, Dec. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Tribune Company (NYSE: TRB) announced today that Dennis FitzSimons will step down as chairman and chief executive officer immediately after the company completes its going-private transaction. FitzSimons will leave the company at the end of the year.

'I am proud to have been part of Tribune for more than 25 years,' said FitzSimons. 'The company's greatest strength has always been the talent and dedication of its 20,000 employees. I thank them for their commitment to serving our readers, viewers, listeners and advertisers.'

On April 2, 2007, Tribune announced its intention to become a private company, owned 100 percent by the Tribune Employee Stock Ownership Plan (Tribune ESOP). At that time, Sam Zell made an initial investment of $250 million in the company. He joined Tribune's board of directors in May. When the transaction closes, his investment in Tribune will increase to $315 million and he will become chairman of the board.

'Sam Zell is an entrepreneur with a phenomenal track record,' added FitzSimons. 'He has made a significant investment in Tribune that indicates his strong belief in the value of the company's media assets. It was Sam's creativity, personal commitment and investment that made this transaction possible.'

'Dennis FitzSimons has provided Tribune with outstanding leadership through a challenging environment,' said Zell. 'He helped build the company into one of the nation's premier media businesses, and has been instrumental in guiding Tribune to the closing of this historic transaction. I wish him much success in the next phase of his career.'

TRIBUNE (NYSE: TRB) is one of the country's top media companies, operating businesses in publishing, interactive and broadcasting. It reaches more than 80 percent of U.S. households and is the only media organization with newspapers, television stations and websites in the nation's top three markets. In publishing, Tribune's leading daily newspapers include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.), The Sun (Baltimore), South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel and Hartford Courant. The company's broadcasting group operates 23 television stations, Superstation WGN on national cable, Chicago's WGN-AM and the Chicago Cubs baseball team.