Scott Smith, president of Tribune Publishing since 2005, is stepping down. In a memo (via Chicago Tribune) Smith told the company: “Sam, Randy and I agree it’s time for new leadership to lead the next wave of market driven change in our business.” The move comes just a week after fresh rumblings from chairman Sam Zell on the need to shake up the way the company does business. Smith touched on issues with management in the memo: “While views and styles clearly differ, we all share the same fundamental goals... as Sam put it, we need to go for greatness built on relevance, revenue and respect, plus generate enough cash flow to pay our debt and create equity value. As tough as market conditions are, I remain confident you will do all you can to best achieve these objectives.” Smith has been with the company for over 30 years. No successor has been announced.

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