UPDATE 1-Tribune lenders object to bankruptcy plan timeline

* Tribune seeks another month on exclusivity

* Lenders complain not being given enough time to object

NEW YORK, April 1 (Reuters) - Some of Tribune Co's TRBCQ.PK biggest lenders complained that the newspaper publisher was not offering them enough time to object to its fifth request for an extension to file a bankruptcy reorganization plan without interference.

In a late Wednesday filing with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Delaware, holders of $4.6 billion of debt under a Tribune credit agreement, said it was unfair to be given just three business days, until April 6, to object to the request to extend Tribune's exclusivity period by one month, to April 30.

Citing "serious concerns" about the extension, the lenders said Tribune was trying to force them to "shoot in the dark" by not explaining the status of the alleged ongoing "substantial negotiations" it cited as a need for requesting the extension.

The lenders said they do not object to the proposed April 13 hearing on the extension. But they said they should have three business days after Tribune makes proposed "supplemental filings" with the court before they lodge objections -- even if this means they could object at any time prior to the hearing.

In its filing, Tribune said the negotiations are intended in part to resolve claims arising out of its $8.2 billion leveraged buyout in 2007 by real estate developer Sam Zell, and to avoid potential "extreme costs of protracted litigation."

Citing "present confidentiality concerns," the publisher of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times declined to discuss the status of the negotiations.

The request for an extension requires approval by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Carey.

Tribune filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in December 2008. Like many rivals, it struggled with falling advertising sales, tight credit and a weakened economy.

The case is In re: Tribune Co, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. 08-13141. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel, editing by Maureen Bavdek)