America’s two largest newspaper chains are joining forces. Will it save either?

America’s two largest newspaper publishers will merge in an effort to combat declining circulation and plunging advertising revenue, but will still face pressure to cut costs at hundreds of already cash-strapped publications around the country. The $1.4 billion purchase of McLean (VA)-based Gannett by GateHouse Media, based in Pittsford (NY), will create a conglomerate that will own more than 250 daily newspapers and hundreds of weekly and community papers. The new company will retain the Gannett name and will have publications in 47 states, reaching more than 145 million unique visitors each month. Executives from both companies extolled the deal as an opportunity to slash up to $300 million in overhead costs while “continuing to invest in newsrooms” -- creating journalism that they hope can attract more digital subscribers and advertisers to their publications at a time when America employs thousands of fewer journalists than it did a decade ago. But the efficiencies wrought by the merger may also result in publications that rely less on local reporters and more on USA Today-type stories produced or edited remotely and published in dozens of the company’s publications. The deal may also mobilize other newspaper chains, including McClatchy and Tribune, to pursue their own mergers in a battle for big advertising dollars.