Tribune Publishing newspaper production disrupted by malware
A computer virus disrupted production of the Chicago Tribune and other Tribune Publishing newspapers across the country, the company said Saturday.
The print edition of the Chicago Tribune was published Saturday without paid death notices and classified ads, while in other markets a s i mi l a r l y slimmed-down version of the Saturday newspaper will be delivered Sunday.
Tribune Publishing news websites were not affected, and no customer information was compromised, the company said Saturday.
“This issue has affected the timeliness and in some cases the completeness of our printed newspapers,” Tribune Publishing spokeswoman Marisa Kollias said in a statement. “Our websites and mobile applications, however, have not been impacted.”
Tribune Publishing discovered the presence of malware Friday that affected some systems used to publish and produce newspapers across the company, Kollias said.
The company is investigating the malware attack and “making progress” to resolve issues with its newspaper production, Kollias said.
Tribune Publishing also reported the attack to the FBI on Friday.
“There is no evidence that customer credit card information or personally identifiable information has been compromised,” Kollias said.
All Tribune Publishing newspapers were affected by the malware, with the South Florida Sun Sentinel, for example, unable to produce its paper in time for Saturday delivery. Those newspapers will be delivered Sunday, the company said.
Saturday editions of suburban Chicago newspapers the News-Sun and the PostTribune also will be among those to be delivered Sunday.
In Southern California, former Tribune Publishing newspapers the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune were affected by the same malware, with many home delivery customers experiencing delays and some not receiving the paper at all.
Los Angeles Times spokeswoman Hillary Manning said the company is working to resolve the computer problems, but delivery issues may linger throughout the weekend.
Tribune Publishing completed its $500 million sale of the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune to biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong in June, but still provides printing and other services to the California newspapers in an ongoing transition services agreement.
Formerly known as Tronc, Tribune Publishing also owns The Baltimore Sun; The Hartford Courant; the Orlando Sentinel; the New York Daily News; the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Md.; The Morning Call in Allentown, Pa.; the Daily Press in Newport News, Va.; and The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va.