STEVE INSKEEP, host:
The business news in Detroit is about the newspapers. The country's two largest newspaper chains have agreed to a business deal that involves the sale of both major papers in Detroit. Gannett is selling The Detroit News and, in turn, will purchase the rival Detroit Free Press from Knight Ridder. Detroit Public Radio's Celeste Headlee reports.
CELESTE HEADLEE reporting:
The Detroit transaction is part of a larger business deal. Gannett and Knight Ridder are also exchanging properties in Florida, Washington and Idaho. Under the Michigan agreement, MediaNews Group out of Denver will take over ownership of The Detroit News. CEO Dean Singleton says he's excited to be coming into the Detroit market.
Mr. DEAN SINGLETON (CEO, MediaNews Group): It's a very large media market. Both we and Gannett believe there's a lot more potential for advertising and circulation share, and we're going to go for it.
HEADLEE: Since 1989, the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News have cooperated under a joint operating agreement. The papers merged their advertising and circulation departments but maintained independent newsrooms. Many other newspapers cooperate under JOAs, but the Detroit pact is the largest in the country and doesn't expire until 2089. Under the JOA, the newspapers published combined editions for weekends and holidays under the title The Detroit News and Free Press. Such changes, along with proposed layoffs at the papers, helped spark a bitter labor dispute in 1992 in which 2,500 workers went on strike. Free Press columnist Bill McGraw says many of his colleagues are concerned about working for the same company that broke the unions.
Mr. BILL McGRAW (Columnist, Detroit Free Press): Gannett, I think it's fair to say, was the instigator of the strike, and their reputation exists for a reason. They've been hostile to unions. Now on the other hand, the company wants to make Detroit a success. I believe we're its biggest paper now, outside of USA Today, and they have reason to want labor peace.
HEADLEE: Gannett has agreed to honor existing union contracts when it takes over the Free Press, but McGraw says many journalists signed union cards as soon as they heard about the trade.
For NPR News, I'm Celeste Headlee in Detroit.
Copyright © 2005 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.