Trouble for Trib

Tribune Publishing has made more than $2.5 million in secret payments to cover up an anti-Semitic slur made by its former chairman three years ago, according to a National Public Radio report.

The bombshell report claims Michael Ferro, while serving as Tribune chairman, called Southern California billionaire Eli Broad a part of a “Jewish cabal” that ran Los Angeles.

NPR alleged that Ferro made the remark at a dinner in Chicago attended by 20 executives running such Tribune newspapers as the Chicago Tribune, the Daily News in New York and the Baltimore Sun.

Tribune also owned the Los Angeles Times until Ferro negotiated its sale for $500 million in June.

“At the dinner, as at other moments, Ferro railed against those who he felt were impeding him — including perceived rivals and competitors,” NPR said.

Ferro’s targets included Broad, the LA-based real estate businessman whose name frequently appeared on the short list of potential buyers of the LA Times.

One of Ferro’s allies at the time was Davan Maharaj, a three-decade veteran of the LA Times who rose to be editor-in-chief. Maharaj also became the paper’s publisher — only to be fired by Tribune in August 2017.

Maharaj and Tribune entered into mediation after the ousted executive pursued a wrongful termination suit. The mediator, a retired state judge, reportedly came upon the “Jewish cabal” slur while reviewing what NPR called “a sample of Ferro’s remarks.”

The mediator urged Tribune to pay Maharaj more than $2.5 million.