Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS NEWS: West Virginia newspapers combine newsrooms upon expiration of antitrust consent decree, (Jul 20, 2015)

By Jeffrey May, J.D.

With the expiration of a U.S. antitrust consent decree that required the continued operation of the only two local daily newspapers in Charleston, West Virginia, the Charleston Gazette and Charleston Daily Mail on July 19 combined newsroom functions with the exception of editorial page content.

In 2007, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division challenged a series of agreements that allegedly eliminated competition between newspaper operators by consolidating ownership and control of the only two local daily newspapers in Charleston, West Virginia, under one company. The two newspapers—the Charleston Gazette and Charleston Daily Mail—had been separately owned and controlled, while operating within a newspaper joint operating agreement under the Newspaper Preservation Act. The government contended that, after the Daily Gazette Company—the owner of the Charleston Gazette—acquired the Charleston Daily Mail in 2004, the Daily Gazette Company took steps to shut the acquired paper down. Among other things, the company allegedly cut the Daily Mail’s budget, reduced its newsroom staff, and transferred several of the best reporters to the Gazette.

The antitrust case was settled after more than two years of litigation. The consent decree required the restructuring of the newspaper joint operating arrangement and other steps to restore competition. In addition, the parties were required to continue publishing Charleston Daily Mail as long as it had not failed financially. The consent decree, approved by the federal district court in Charleston, on July 19, 2010, was to remain in effect for five years (2010-2 Trade Cases ¶77,105).

In 2012, a Justice Department official noted that, since the decree took effect, “the Daily Mail’s outlook has stabilized and improved relative to the Gazette.” That official added, however, that “the ultimate path of the Charleston newspaper market in a challenging industry remains unknown.”

Now, the Charleston Gazette-Mail has reported that the papers will combine newsrooms “to dedicate increased resources investigative reporting and bolster our online presence with more breaking news and multimedia.” With respect to the editorial page content, it was suggested that “two completely independent editorial pages—the one on the left representing the Gazette’s progressive view and the one on the right keeping the Daily Mail’s conservative view” would be maintained.

“This is not one paper gobbling up the other,” it was noted. “It is a combination of the two newsroom staffs working in cooperation to produce the most comprehensive news product in West Virginia.”

Companies: Daily Gazette Co.

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