Tribune considers purchase of local rival

Tribune Company is considering whether it can buy the Orange County Register and fuse it with its flagship Los Angeles Times to consolidate the Los Angeles newspaper market, as owner Samuel Zell scrambles to find ways to save the debt-swamped newspaper company. Tribune has held talks over a deal to either buy the Orange County Register from its owner, Freedom Communications, or to strike up an agreement through which the Orange County Register and LA Times could combine production and distribution operations to save money, according to media industry sources. Both Tribune and Freedom are gasping for air, as the industry's advertising sales and circulation numbers continue to shrink. The number of publishers in or near default on their debt has lengthened to include Journal Register, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Philadelphia Media News, which publishes the Philadelphia Inquirer.