More Newspapers File for Chapter 11

The weekend bankruptcy filings of Philadelphia's two major newspapers and Journal Register Co., publisher of the New Haven Register and 19 other dailies, marks the latest in a wave of companies crushed by corporate debt and is likely a sign of more pain to come. The operating arm of Philadelphia Media Holdings, publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, sought bankruptcy protection Sunday, following on the heels of a Saturday filing by the Journal Register. Both companies were victims of debt taken on for acquisitions, which became a noose as advertising revenue shrivels across the newspaper industry. Publishers are proving especially vulnerable in a global economic downturn that has forced firms from telecommunications to the car-parts industry to tip into Chapter 11. Four newspaper owners have filed for bankruptcy protection since December, and there is a queue of others whose debt ratings are considered risky: MediaNews Group, publisher of the Denver Post and San Jose Mercury News; Orange County Register publisher Freedom Communications Inc.; and small-town newspaper publisher Morris Publishing Group. More are scrambling to rework their debt terms.