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A-I illustration for Deadline Detroit
USA TODAY Co., owner of the Detroit Free Press, announced Monday that it will acquire the Detroit News and continue to publish it separately, the Detroit News reports. The announcement was met with skepticism from some who believe the purchase will ultimately result in one of the publications vanishing.
The company said it has agreed to a binding letter of intent to acquire The News from MediaNews Group, a transaction it expects to complete by the end of the month, The News reports. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The announcement comes just weeks after The News and the Free Press ended a 36-year Joint Operating Agreement (JOA), under which the newsrooms were separate but business operations—including advertising and circulation—were combined.
Ed Wendover, former publisher of the now-defunct Community Crier in Plymouth, is skeptical that both papers will survive the move.
“The U.S. Justice Department should take action to derail the proposed sale of The Detroit News to USA Today/Gannett/the Detroit Free Press,” he said in a statement Monday.
“It certainly turns out that reporters and editors covering U.S. media have failed to aggressively report on the breakup of the Detroit JOA. These warning signs were there in November, but media coverage has been sleeping.”
“This latest development raises huge questions about fair competition in the Southeast Michigan newspaper community. The chances of USA Today/Gannett keeping both papers alive as competitive entities are slimmer than none.”
Former Detroit News and Wall Street Journal reporter Bryan Gruley, who published a 1993 book on the JOA titled Paper Losses, also isn’t optimistic that both papers will survive the purchase.
“I believe they’ll pretend to maintain the two for a while, and then one of them—I don’t know which one—is a goner,” Gruley said.
He said it’s also possible the company will eventually combine the newsrooms while continuing to publish under separate brands and editorial pages.
“I mean, most companies can’t sustain one newspaper,” he said.
USA TODAY's statements are far more optimistic about the future of a two-paper town.
“Welcoming The Detroit News fully to our network will enable the continued delivery of trusted, high-quality news and content to our audiences and advertisers in the region,” CEO Mike Reed said in a statement, according to The News. The acquisition “reinforces our commitment to local journalism in the Detroit metropolitan area.”
Lou Mleczko, former reporter for the Detroit News who served as president and administrative officer for the Newspaper Guild Local 22, is skeptical of the move.
"I and other opponents of the Joint Operating Agreement have long predicted that we will wind up with a media monopoly of one corporate owner of The Detroit News and the Free Press. The result will be even smaller News staffs and shrinking editorial budgets. At some point Gannett will decide to fold what's left of The News. As with dozens of other failed JOAs in other cities, Gannett shareholders will demand the closing of The News."
"If you don't believe that, ask yourself what happened to all the statements issued by the Media News Group about their intent to run an independent newspaper long term. Those corporate statements vanished in less than a month after the Detroit JOA expired."
