After experiencing an executive shakeup earlier this year, The Tribune Company has hired Marc Chase, Clear Channel’s (NYSE: CCU) former SVP for programming, as president of interactive. Chase replaces Mark Sotir, who had been heading up the interactive area since mid-February on an interim basis. Sotir took over from Tim Landon who left the company just as the transition under Sam Zell as chairman and CEO of Tribune was getting underway. Sotir returns to his primary role as managing director of Zell’s Equity Group Investments.

Chase joins another Clear Channel defector, Randy Michaels, who became CEO for Tribune Interactive and Broadcasting, in December. It might strike some as funny that two radio execs will be handling Tribune’s interactive strategies; Chase appeared to anticipate the doubt and produced a particularly wacky press release announcing his hire ("The press release was meant as a demonstration that we’re doing things very differently at the ‘new’ Tribune,” said Gary Weitman, a Tribune spokesman). Release

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