Tribune executives were unavailable for comment. Broad did not return a phone call from the Register, nor did former Los Angeles Times publisher Austin Beutner, who was recently fired by Tribune amid rumors that he was pushing a Broad bid. Late Friday, media analyst Ken Doctor, citing confidential sources, wrote in Politico Media that Apollo Global Management, a New York private equity firm, approached Tribune about a purchase last month but Tribune has been "non-responsive." Wall Street analysts expressed doubts that any financial firm would want to buy the publishing company. Moreover, they said, if any firm were interested, it would not want to spin off the Los Angeles Times, Tribune's flagship newspaper. In September Tribune's board called the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune "a cornerstone of our company's portfolio and a key component to our success in the future."