MediaNews is in control of the Denver JOA; Scripps is along for the ride. I doubt MediaNews will leave Denver for Detroit in the midst of an auto istdnury meltdown, but that doesn't mean Gannett and Dean won't cut a deal. They already collaborate in California and elsewhere. Also, MediaNews is being challenged by the (Bush) Dept. of Justice in Charleston, W.Va. for engineering the potential shutdown of the JOA there. They have to be careful because of DOJ scrutiny in this deal. In York, Singleton found a shill (in this case a previous owner) to buy the weaker paper to make it look like they were still operating separately. My guess is something similar will happen in Denver. In any case, bad news all around for journalism and journalists in the Mile High City.

by Iliuta 11:54:52 AM 2013.01.29