A Great City's People Forced to Swallow a Monopoly

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, you may be interested to know that Hearst and MediaNews Group are about to have—well, apparently not a monopoly on the truth, but something darned close.

When Hearst tried to invest in its primary newspaper rival in the Bay Area, the Department of Justice voiced a few niggling concerns about potential anti-competitive behavior.

MNG and Hearst both publish daily newspapers that account for most of the Bay Area's newspaper readership and advertising. Hearst owns the San Francisco Chronicle. MNG, through its controlling interest in the California Newspapers Partnership, publishes daily newspapers including the San Jose Mercury News, the Marin Independent Journal, and several daily newspapers that operate under the name Alameda News Group.

But the D.O.J. issued a rather densely worded press release yesterday announcing that the inquiry into the investment is now closed. A call to the Department of Justice confirmed that the Feds are "backing off" on their investigation.

Concerns about a large part of Northern California getting all its news from the same place seem to be allayed, and Hearst is now green-lighted to take a 30 percent stake in MediaNews Group.

by Liz Gunnison

Related Links:

• Chronicle Owner Takes $317 Million Stake in Owner of Other Bay Area Papers


• Hearst Puts S.F. Properties, Including Chronicle HQ, On Block