Tribune Co. weighs bankruptcy filing

? The company that owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Chicago Cubs baseball team is preparing for a possible bankruptcy filing as it attempts to renegotiate $12 billion in debt obligations with banks and other creditors, a Tribune Co. official said Sunday.

The Chicago media conglomerate hired Lazard Ltd. a little more than a week ago for advice on a possible Chapter 11 filing, though people familiar with internal talks said the company was exploring options.

Tribune and many other newspaper owners, already hurting from the migration of advertising revenue to the Internet, have suffered even greater losses with the broad economic downturn. The financial slump also has hampered the company’s attempts to sell assets, in particular the Cubs, at a premium price to help pay a $512 million debt payment next year.