A dismantler dismantles

Sam Zell didn't make his money putting things together. He made it pulling things apart.

So, true to his stripes, Zell confirmed today that he will sell the Times building in Los Angeles and Tribune Tower in Chicago as a way to "maximize the value of our assets."

The announcement comes as Tribune Co. contends with mounting debt and warnings from Wall Street that the company could slip into default.

From Zell's statements, it sounds as if he will sell the building on Spring Street and then rent back some of the office space to use for the newspaper. But, who the hell really knows?

Other ugly things happening at Tribune-owned newspapers:

• The Hartford Currant goes down the newshole with a plan to cut 57 employees and trim 67 pages per week from the paper.

• The Baltimore Sun plans to cut about 100 employees.