Parent Company Of New Haven Register, Shoreline Times Files For Chapter 11, Again

Digital First Media, which operates the New Haven Register and several other news organizations, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

The parent company says it is seeking a "prompt sale" and that the Journal Register Company will continue normal business operations during the proceedings.

"Offices, newsrooms, sales teams and publishing continue working. Employees are paid and goods and services purchased after the filing date are paid for in the ordinary course of business," the parent company said in a press release.

The company says it has a "a signed stalking horse bid" for the  Journal Register Company from 21st CMH Acquisition Co., an affiliate of funds managed by Alden Global Capital LLC.

The Wall Street Journal reports this is the second time in three years that the Journal Register Company has sought bankruptcy protection and that Alden Global Capital is the company's single largest shareholder and creditor: 

In its bankruptcy petition, Journal Register reported assets and debts each in the range of $100 million to $500 million. The company operates 18 daily newspapers clustered around cities including Detroit, Philadelphia and Cleveland. It said its multi-platform products--websites, video and print ventures that number more than 350—reach an audience of 21 million Americans monthly.

To read more, please see The Wall Street Journal story online.

The New Haven Register covers New Haven, North Haven, and other shoreline towns. The Journal Register company also owns the Shoreline Times of Guilford, Middletown Press of Middletown, the Register Ctitizen of Torrington, and Connecticut Magazine. Here is a list of its properties on Wikipedia.

The Courant reports that some experts see this as an effort to move more quickly towards a "digital-only" company:

"The Journal-Register Company is deploying bankruptcy as a tool to clear away the debt and debris of the collapse of the age of print to make itself more appealing to suitors as a digital-only company," said Rich Hanley, associate professor and director of the graduate journalism program at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, in the Courant. See the full Courant article for more details.