SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) – The U.S. Justice Department has sued to block Tribune Publishing Co. from buying the bankrupt Orange County Register and another Southern California newspaper, arguing the $56 million sale would limit competition and harm readers and advertisers in the region.
The move on Thursday came just hours after Tribune announced it had won a bid to buy the Register and Press-Enterprise of Riverside, both owned by Freedom Communications. The Tribune already operates the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune, which it purchased last year.
The sale, which still needs a federal bankruptcy court judge’s approval, would give Tribune control over the four largest daily newspapers in Southern California, covering a vast stretch from Los Angeles to the Mexican border that is home to 18 million people.
The four combined newsrooms would have as many as 1,000 journalists. However, if the deal ultimately goes through, job cuts are a virtual certainty.
“Tribune’s dominant position in both Orange County and Riverside County would allow it to, among other harmful effects, increase subscription prices and advertising rates to businesses targeting readers in those areas,” the Justice Department’s lawsuit said.