Recently by Simon Day

Three newspaper companies have come out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection: American Community Newspapers LLC, Journal Register Co. and Star Tribune Holdings Corp., The Associated Press reported Monday.

American Community Newspapers first filed for Chapter 11 protection in April because it was running out of cash "without any prospect of obtaining additional funding." The company was sold to senior creditors after judge approval in June, clearing most of the group's debt. The company publishes three daily newspapers.

Media giant Virgin Media confirmed it will soon be listed on the London Stock Exchange, Guardian.co.uk reported Monday. The company plans to make its first appearance on the London market when trading opens at 8 a.m. on Thursday.

However, Virgin's primary listing will remain on New York's Nasdaq exchange. The move recognises that the company is both commercially and physically focused in the United Kingdom and will facilitate British and European investment in the company as shares can now be purchased in pounds sterling.

Chinese online media company Sina Corp. has dropped its planned US$1.66 billion merger with Focus Media Holding Ltd. afflicted by a laborious regulatory approval process, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Alternatively, internal investment will occur, with Sina's chief executive leading a $180 million purchase of a 10 percent equity stake in the company.

Two weeks ahead of Sudan's first elections in more than 20 years, President Omar al-Bashir ordered an immediate stop to any practices of state censorship of media, Reuters reported Monday.

The announcement, carried by the official Suna news agency, was cautiously welcomed by editors who have received similar to promises from the government in the past. However, they said they still believe they will be pressured when it comes to "sensitive stories," according to an Al Jazeera report.

The rise of digital around the world won't hurt print in China, where press freedom is scarce, but state-run newspapers have continued to succeed, due to government ownership and media monopolies, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported today.

The largest newspaper in China, the government owned People's Daily, prints 2.8 million copies per day. The newspaper derives its main revenue from subscriptions and big business advertising, many of which are also state owned.

Philadelphia Newspapers LLC's road out of bankruptcy protection has been slowed as the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. voiced objections to the publisher's planned reorganisation. The PBGC said the proposal does not adequately address how the company will honour its pension obligations, the Wall Street Journal reported today.

Court documents filed by PBGC on Thursday object to the publishing company's suggestion that the pension plan can be kept or terminated due to bankruptcy proceedings. Philadelphia Newspapers owns The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News, and the plan covers 250 present and retired employees, according to Editor & Publisher.

A representative for the newspaper industry on Thursday appealed to Congress to give newspapers an opportunity to recoup taxes paid on profits over the last decade as the industry struggles to cope with declines in advertising revenue, The Associated Press reported Friday.

John Strum, the Newspaper Association of America's president and CEO, said newspapers do not want a government handout, but rather he believes the industry would better benefit from a tax break and relaxed pension contributions. His proposal would see newspapers receive tax refunds from the past 5 years to offset current losses.

Independent Kazakh newspapers are faced with a temporary stop to printing as their major printing press has been closed in order to be tax probed, the Taiwan News reported Friday.

Authorities raided and closed the Kometa-S printing press earlier this week under the premise of tax evasion. The Kometa-S plant prints the Independent newspaper Respublika, and the publications for the Azat and Alga opposition movements. All printing has been postponed while the investigation proceeds. Respublika labelled the raid an act of intimidation to force the papers closure.

The CQ-Roll Call Group, which publishes targeted publications that cover the U.S. Congress, cut 44 jobs on Thursday, AFP reported this morning.

The job losses see the editorial staff reduced by more than 20 percent. Laurie Battaglia, managing director of the CQ-Roll Call Group, informed staff by memo, citing the amalgamation of the group's titles as the basis of the cuts.

The UK Office of Fair Trading on Thursday revealed its decision not to investigate the distribution of newspaper and magazines, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The decision was based on the consumer benefits of industry self-assessment of its distribution agreements under the competition guidance of the OFT as well as a number of changes in the distribution sector.

Express Newspapers today announced a reduction in the number of staff it will cut, down to 75 from its original announcement of 90, the Guardian.co.uk reported today. The newsroom cull will be reduced from 70 journalists to between 52 and 57.

A redundancy plan proposed by the company suggested 18 clerical, 52 editorial and five managerial job losses, initially pursuing voluntary redundancies. The union said it has received 22 volunteers for redundancies, 16 in London, five from Glasgow and one from Broughton.

Trinity Mirror Group-owned Media Wales today announced the closure of two "loss-making" weekly newspapers in south Wales, the Neath and Port Talbot Guardians, BBC News reported today.

As a result of the closures and the reduction of the company's magazine publishing operations, 15 jobs will be lost.

Fairfax Media Chairman Ron Walker has continued to be undecided over whether he will step down from the company's board, with his latest proposal suggesting he will delay his decision until the annual shareholders' meeting in November, the Australian Business Journal reported Wednesday.

In an interview with The Australian Financial Review, Walker originally said he would retire at the end of next year. However, this prompted director and major shareholder John B. Fairfax to demand Walker step down as part of the company's "board renewal" plans.

Independent News & Media confirmed on Wednesday that it will grant its bondholders a large chunk of equity in a move to secure the company's financial well being, Reuters reported today.

The company will use the debt-for-equity swap to relieve the strain of its overdue €200 million senior debt, providing bondholders with a substantial stake in the company.

The Trinity Mirror North West and North Wales have been forced to close the Mid Cheshire Chronicle, Wrexham Chronicle and the Whitchurch Herald, as the economic climate has suffocated regional newspapers of local advertising, the Mid Cheshire Chronicle reported Wednesday.

Sara Wilde, managing director of Trinity Mirror Regional North West and Wales, said: "This decision reflects the challenging economic conditions affecting our local advertising markets and, as such, the current revenue and circulation of these titles does not provide us with a strong enough base for sustainable and profitable publication of these titles either now or in the longer term.