Tribune stock plunging *

Down to $24.87 in mid-day trading today, almost ten dollars below what Sam Zell is supposedly going to pay for the struggling company. It's the lowest value for Tribune stock since about 1998.

* Perking up a bit: Tribune stock is off 2.3% for the day at $25.15 a share, which Market Watch calls "an apparent sign of mounting concerns over the viability of a plan to take the media conglomerate private." The Zell deal, however, remains intact, according to MW sources.