U.S. Judge Approves Partial Merger of 2 Detroit Newspapers

A federal judge today approved the partial merger of Detroit’s two daily newspapers under a joint operating arrangement granted earlier by then-Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III.

U.S. District Judge George H. Revercomb’s decision approving the partial merger of the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News came a month after the deal was temporarily put on hold by court order to give opponents a chance to mount a legal challenge.

“The court finds that the attorney general was not unreasonable in finding that the Free Press--a newspaper that has incurred and will continue to incur losses that would already have led to its demise were it not owned by a large corporate parent (Knight-Ridder Inc.)--is a failing newspaper,” Revercomb said.

William B. Schultz, who represented the plaintiffs, would not say whether he planned an appeal.