2nd auction of newspapers likely to bring same result

For Philadelphia's daily newspapers and their readers, the ongoing federal bankruptcy case is beginning to resemble "Groundhog Day," the 1993 movie in which actor Bill Murray, playing a TV weatherman, is forced to relive the same events, day after day, every time his clock radio jolts him awake.

The federal judge in charge of the bankruptcy case has scheduled an auction - the second one in five months - to sell the Daily News, the Inquirer and their website, Philly.com, to the highest bidder. Although anything's possible, those closest to the action expect the same result that the last auction produced in April: The new owner of the newspapers is likely to be a group of the company's biggest creditors, a coalition of hedge funds and other investment firms holding more than $200 million of the newspaper's bad debt.