Sam Zell out as troubled Tribune's CEO

Sorry, Tribune Co. employees. After everything you've been through in the past two years, you won't get to witness the one thing that might, in some small way, make up for it: The spectacle of Sam Zell getting fired as CEO.

Zell deprived his underlings of that pleasure Wednesday by handing over the reins to Randy Michaels, the media conglomerate's chief operating officer since 2008. The good news, for the comeuppance minded, is that Zell can still get booted as Tribune's chairman, since he's hanging onto that post. The bad news: As chairman, he'll "continue to provide the management team with strategic oversight and vision" -- the same oversight and vision that guided Tribune into the ditch it currently occupies.