Tribune to separate broadcasting, publishing businesses Wed Jul 10, 2013 8:03am EDT (Reuters) - Tribune Co will separate its publishing business from its broadcast division, it said on Wednesday, following the path taken by Time Warner Inc and News Corp. Media companies have been shedding their print assets to allow a greater focus on their faster-growing broadcast businesses. The tax-free spinoff of Tribune's eight newspapers, which include the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, will have its own board of directors and senior management team. Tribune Chief Executive Officer Peter Liguori said a separate newspaper company would bring "single-minded attention" to journalism, advertising and digital prospects. "The separation is designed to allow each company to maximize its flexibility and competitiveness in a rapidly changing media environment," he added. Newspapers have faced unprecedented challenges in recent years as advertisers flee the medium and consumers ditch print subscriptions in favor digital access for their smartphones and tablets. Indeed, Tribune has turned its focus to TV. A longtime broadcast executive from Fox and Discovery Communications Inc, Liguori orchestrated Tribune's blockbuster acquisition of Local TV for $2.3 billion just last week.. Earlier this year, Tribune said it was looking at selling the newspapers after it retained Evercore Partners Inc and JPMorgan. Tribune expects to complete the separation over the next 12 months and that each company would have revenue in excess of $1 billion. Reporting by Jennifer Saba in New York Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bangalore; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty