Tribune Co. First Day Declaration

These First Day Declarations are very useful in understanding why a company filed bankruptcy and what its "challenges" are for the future.  The Tribune Co. First Day Declaration of Chandler Bigelow III (I don't make it up pal-y as Jim Healy used to say) - 90 pages in all - can be accessed here.  It's a nice explanation of what the Tribune owns, specifically, and results of recent operations.  The financing arrangements are mind-numbing.  Surprisingly the declaration says that the debtor, i.e., the 110 companies that filed and the companies that did not, has $7.6 billion in assets and $13.9 billion in liabilities.  You read that and say "Why bother"?  But on closer inspection, the $7.6 billion is the number on the consolidated balance sheet which, of course, shows assets at "book value," i.e., the amount paid for the asset less depreciation.  The assets must have a fair market value considerably higher than $7.6 billion.