Tribune, the U. S. based newspaper and television chain that publishes The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune, has filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday.

The company became the first major newspaper or chain in several decades to seek help under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The latest action - a voluntary reorganization under U. S. bankruptcy law that holds the present management - will allow the employee-owned media conglomerate to request relief from debt service while it continues operations in hopes the economy, and its ad revenues, will turn around.

The company issued a statement on its Web site, saying that it has adequate cash to publish its newspapers and run its television stations without interruption.

According to Tribune's bankruptcy filing in a Delaware court yesterday, the company said it has $13 billion in debt and $7.6 billion in assets.

The sources revealed that Chicago-based Tribune's largest creditor is J. P. Morgan Chase, to which Tribune owes $8.6 billion. Merrill Lynch is second, at $1.6 billion, and Deutsche Bank is third, at $900 million.

Tribune reported last month that its operating revenues for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 decreased 10%, to $1 billion, as advertising revenues fell 19% compared with a year earlier.