Ex-Trib managers seek additional data

Former managers of the Salt Lake Tribune have asked a federal judge to order the release of additional information to determine if they wish to challenge a proposed production facility in West Valley City.

Salt Lake Tribune Publishing Co. on Thursday requested that U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart compel the depositions of five key players to the planning of the new facility, including new Tribune owner William Dean Singleton.

The new plant would house the Newspaper Agency Corp., which handles all printing, advertising and circulation for the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret Morning News. Business operations of the two newspapers are shared under the papers' joint operating agreement.

Plans for the West Valley facility took root after Stewart lifted an injunction preventing new Tribune owner MediaNews Group Inc. from making material changes to the Tribune without former managers' approval.

Last month, SLTPC last month asked Stewart to reinstate the injunction. He refused to do so but instructed MediaNews to inform SLTPC of any changes being contemplated and left the door open for SLTPC to file a new preliminary injunction motion based on that information.

In court documents filed this week, SLTPC alleges MediaNews has refused to submit the five individuals for questioning and has produced documentation that was lacking key information.

SLTPC filed the federal lawsuit in response to MediaNews' purchase of the Tribune in January 2001. Former managers seek to enforce a 1997 option agreement they claim allowed them to buy the newspaper last summer. The case is set for trial this fall.