COURT ALLOWS DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ANTITRUST LAWSUIT AGAINST
DAILY GAZETTE COMPANY AND MEDIANEWS GROUP INC. TO PROCEED

Lawsuit Challenges Transactions That Combined the Ownership of
Charleston's Two Daily Newspapers

WASHINGTON — The U.S. District Court in Charleston, W.Va., issued an order and opinion yesterday allowing the Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit against the Daily Gazette Company and MediaNews Group Inc. to proceed.

In May 2007, the Department's Antitrust Division filed a lawsuit challenging transactions that combined the ownership of Charleston's two daily newspapers, The Charleston Gazette and Charleston Daily Mail, under the Daily Gazette Company. In its lawsuit, the Division alleged that these transactions substantially lessened competition in the Charleston local daily newspaper market and gave the Gazette Company a monopoly in that market.

"The Antitrust Division's lawsuit seeks to protect consumers, remedy the competitive damage already done in Charleston, and ensure that the long-standing competition between The Charleston Gazette and the Daily Mail is restored," said Thomas O. Barnett, Assistant Attorney General in the Department's Antitrust Division. "We are pleased that the court has allowed the lawsuit to proceed and we look forward to presenting our case in court."

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