In a push to own the largest newspapers in four Southern California counties, Tribune Publishing won the right to purchase Freedom Communications' Press-Enterprise in Riverside and the Orange County Register at auction Thursday.
The winning bid was $56 million.
Tribune's euphoria, if there was any, was no doubt tempered by the U.S. Department of Justice, which immediately filed a lawsuit to block the sale under anti-trust statutes.
As the grand plans of Register/Enterprise investor Aaron Kushner turned to dust, big layoffs occurred, and Freedom Communications declared bankruptcy in November 2015. The whole saga has journalists and others scratching their heads over what the sale could mean to San Diego in particular and print media in general.
And more interesting, given the declining fortunes of newspapers, what is it the Department of Justice is protecting us from?
Former longtime Los Angeles Times reporter Tony Perry discussed the potential sale Friday on KPBS.