July 25, 2012 Dear Gerry: There is deep frustration and concern in the newsroom over the Tribunes

continued relationship with Journatic, one that threatens to jeopardize our credibility--the one thing that most distinguishes us to our readers and advertisers. Details of the Journatic business model remain unclear, but the operation has across the country demonstrated questionable practices difficult to explain away. Repeated incidents of false bylines and false datelines, along with plagiarism, have been exposed at several Journatic clients. As employees concerned about both the reputation of the Tribune and its future, we have been disturbed not just by the relationship with Journatic but also a lack of detail about how this relationship came about. We also want to know what form, if any, it will take going forward. We know you share our concerns about the Tribunes credibility, and are enlisting your help in getting answers to these critical questions not yet addressed by Tribune management: 1.) How much has this company invested in Journatic and what percentage of that entity does this company own? 2.) When the decision to invest in Journatic was made, what specifically was done to vet the background of its owners and prior investors as well as its business practices? Who conducted those reviews, what was the outcome and how did they assess the firms ethical standards, methods and quality controls in providing so-called content? 3.) Who was involved in the decision to salvage the relationship with Journatic despite broad evidence of practices antithetical to our fundamental beliefs and traditions as a newsroom? 4.) The code of ethics that all Tribune employees must sign makes clear that it is a firing offense to engage in the kinds of practices that Journatic has engaged in again and again. Why then is Tribune seeking to salvage its relationship with Journatic when as a matter of policy it declares zero tolerance for such behavior? 5.) We have been told that there will be a firewall between the use of Journatic copy and that of the newsroom. Yet the newsroom was called to fill in the coverage gap with the sudden moratorium on Journatic earlier this month. If the relationship is revived, how can we be assured that a separation will be both inviolable and clear to readers? 6.) The Tribune has spent considerable efforts positioning itself as an exemplar of watchdog reporting, devoting major resources to exposing malfeasance, exploitation and greed. How do you expect customers to believe in our credibility as a watchdog if we dont demand the same high standards of conduct from our business partners that we do of others? Sincerely, Your colleagues (see attached page)

David Kidwell Jeff Coen Bob Secter Noreen Ahmed-Ullah Kathy Bergen Christopher Borrelli Manya Brachear John Byrne Mary Kate Chambers John Cooper Hal Dardick Julie Deardorff Duaa Eldeib Hugo Espinoza Peter Frost Ted Gregory Anne Halston Michael Hawthorne Jon Hilkevitch Jared Hopkins Jim Jaworski Trevor Jensen Blair Kamin John Keilman Eric Krol Jeff Long Brian MacQueen Michelle Manchir Colleen Mastony Bill McDonald Jason Morris Matt OConnor Vikki Ortiz-Healy Rick Pearson Mary Ellen Podmolik Brian Rausch Michelle Rowan Max Rust Nancy Ryan Mary Schmich Stacy St. Clair Saleema Syed Tracy Van Moorlehem Julie Wernau Wailin Wong

John Chase David Heinzmann James Webb Lisa Black Dawn Rhodes Lolly Bowean Jonathan Bullington Jeff Carlson Jodi Cohen Jeff Danna Joe Darrow Cynthia Dizikes Monica Eng Liam Ford Monique Garcia Eric Hahn Melissa Harris Alexander Helbach Dan Hinkel David Jackson Melissa Jenco Chris Jones Gregory Karp Rick Kogan Todd Lighty Kristen Mack Joe Mahr Alan Marumoto Bob McCoppin Mark Misulonas Shanna Novak Antonio Olivo Kevin Pang Michael Phillips Diane Rado Regina Robinson Angela Rozas Joseph Ryan Ameet Sachdev Deborah Shelton Annie Sweeney Trine Tsouderos Jennifer Weigel Stu Werner Jon Yates