Detroit Free Press owner to acquire Detroit News
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Dueling Free Press and Detroit News boxes in 2005. Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
The media company that owns the Detroit Free Press, USA Today Co., plans to acquire our region's other major daily newspaper, the Detroit News.
Why it matters: The two will continue operating, but the acquisition still represents a consequential shake-up in one of the few remaining metros with two daily newspapers.
- Terms of the deal with MediaNews Group weren't disclosed, according to the News, which also pointed out that it's rare but "not unprecedented" for two dailies in the same city to have the same owner.
Catch up quick: Until late last year, the News and Free Press had been in a nearly 40-year joint operating agreement. While they were owned separately and competed editorially, USA Today oversaw the Free Press' business operations and managed the News' advertising, circulation and production.
- The end of that agreement foresaw a "new era of competition" in Detroit between the two papers, per the News, which planned to start a Sunday paper this month but later delayed it.
Axios requested comment from USA Today Co., whose portfolio includes 200 local publications across the U.S., and was referred to a news release and USA Today story.
- The Newspaper Guild of Detroit, representing workers at the News, Free Press and other papers, declined to comment.
What we're watching: Here are some questions we have on the acquisition:
How will readers be impacted?
Not only is the city served by the two papers' robust reporting staffs, the Freep and News historically have offered divergent opinion sections, with the former leaning left and the latter to the right.
What they're saying: The two publications will remain separate with their distinct voices, USA Today Co. CEO Michael Reed said in a USA Today story announcing the move.
- Reed also said in a news release that the deal "reinforces our commitment to local journalism in the Detroit metropolitan area … Welcoming The Detroit News fully to our network will enable the continued delivery of trusted, high-quality news and content to our audiences and advertisers in the region."
Will they eventually merge?
The news release says the two papers "will continue to publish separately."
- But plans other than that weren't disclosed, according to the News' story.
- No immediate indication was made of any staffing changes.