USA TODAY Co., owner of the Detroit Free Press, announced Monday that it will acquire the Detroit News and continue to publish it separately, the Detroit News reports. The announcement was met with skepticism from some who believe the purchase will ultimately result in one of the publications vanishing.
The company said it has agreed to a binding letter of intent to acquire The News from MediaNews Group, a transaction it expects to complete by the end of the month, The News reports. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The announcement comes just weeks after The News and the Free Press ended a 36-year Joint Operating Agreement (JOA), under which the newsrooms were separate but business operations—including advertising and circulation—were combined…