Newspaper Publisher Files for Bankruptcy

The owner of the Orange County Register in California and dozens of other newspapers has become the latest publisher driven into bankruptcy court by a jarring drop in advertising revenue.

Freedom Communications Inc. had been struggling to bring in enough money to repay its debt for the past year. It required workers to take unpaid leave and imposed an across-the-board 5 percent cut in wages.

The privately held company is at least the 10th newspaper publisher to file for bankruptcy protection over the past year.

List of Freedom Communications newspapers:

Alton, Ill.: The Telegraph
Barstow, Calif.: Desert Dispatch
Bonifay, Fla.: Holmes County Times-Advertiser
Brownsville, Tex.: The Brownsville Herald
Burlington, N.C.: Times-News
Chipley, Fla.: Washington County News
Clovis, N.M.: Clovis News Journal
Colorado Springs, Colo.: The Gazette
Colusa, Calif.: Colusa Sun Herald
Corning, Calif.: Corning Observer
Crestview, Fla.: The Crestview News Bulletin
Destin, Fla.: The Destin Log
Fort Walton Beach, Fla.:Northwest Florida Daily News
Gastonia, N.C.: The Gaston Gazette
Harlingen, Tex.: Valley Morning Star
Havelock, N.C.: Havelock News
Hesperia, Calif.: Hesperia Star
Jacksonville, Ill.: Journal-Courier
Jacksonville, N.C.: The Daily News
Kinston, N.C.: Free Press
Lima, Ohio: The Lima News
Marysville, Calif.: Appeal-Democrat
Mesa, Ariz.: East Valley Tribune
McAllen, Tex.: The Monitor
New Bern, N.C.: Sun Journal
Odessa, Tex.: Odessa American
Panama City, Fla.: The News Herald
Portales, N.M.: Portales News-Tribune
Porterville, Calif.: The Porterville Recorder
Port St. Joe, Fla.: The Star
Santa Ana, Calif.: The Orange County Register
Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.: The Walton Sun
Sedalia, Mo.: The Sedalia Democrat
Shelby, N.C.: The Star
Surf City, N.C.: The Topsail Advertiser
Sun City, Ariz.: Daily News-Sun
Tucumcari, N.M.: Quay County Sun
Victorville, Calif.: Daily Press
Weslaco, Tex.: Mid Valley Town Crier
Willows, Calif.: Willows Journal
Yuma, Ariz.: The Sun