Las Vegas Review-Journal Ends Printing of Rival Las Vegas Sun After Decades
The Las Vegas Review-Journal announced on Friday that it will no longer print its rival publication, the Las Vegas Sun, marking the first time in decades that the competing newspaper will not appear as a daily insert. This decision brings a longstanding dispute between the southern Nevada newspapers to a head, effectively terminating what was once a cooperative arrangement under a joint operating agreement.
Legal Dispute and Editorial Independence
In an editorial, the Review-Journal stated that readers "will not find a printed Las Vegas Sun insert inside" moving forward. The publication noted that the Sun maintains an active website with hundreds of thousands of followers across social media platforms and is free to produce its own newspaper independently. "We encourage them to do so. The Review-Journal competes with countless sources of news and entertainment, but we would welcome one more. We just don’t want to foot the bill. It is time the Sun stood up on its own two feet," the editorial asserted, without disclosing specific costs involved.
The two publications were scheduled to appear in court on Friday, with the Sun hoping a judge would order printing to resume immediately. Attorney Leif Reid emphasized in an email that this would be the first day in 76 years that the Sun has not been printed, warning that "This does irreparable harm to our community, as no one benefits when a local newspaper is prevented from being published."
Historical Context and Joint Operating Agreement
The now-rare joint operating agreement, established under the 1970 Newspaper Preservation Act signed by President Richard Nixon, was designed to save newspapers costs while preserving competition and editorial variety in cities facing financial struggles. It required the Sun to be printed as a daily insert in the Review-Journal, with both companies remaining editorially independent, maintaining separate newsrooms and websites.
The agreement was first entered into in 1989 when the Sun was struggling financially, making it an afternoon newspaper on weekdays and a section within the Review-Journal on weekend mornings. The Review-Journal handled production, distribution, and advertising, collecting all revenue and paying the Sun monthly to cover its news and editorial expenses. In 2005, the agreement was amended to make the Sun an insert every morning.
Legal Challenges and Supreme Court Decision
A lower court had previously found the agreement unenforceable because a 2005 update was never signed by the U.S. attorney general. In February, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by the Sun, a decision the Review-Journal editorial hailed as a decisive victory. The editorial attributed the halt in Sun publication to "6½ years of litigation between the newspapers, precipitated by the Sun."
Review-Journal owners sought to end the agreement in 2019, prompting the Sun’s owners to file a lawsuit alleging that termination violated anti-trust laws. The Sun has argued in court that losing its print product could hinder staff recruitment, cause reader loss, and potentially force closure.
Broader Industry Trends and Perspectives
News business analyst Ken Doctor noted that such agreements between rival publications have dwindled as part of a "long, slow goodbye of newspapers as we knew them." For instance, the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News ended a 40-year agreement last year, with USA Today Co., owner of the Free Press, recently announcing plans to purchase the Detroit News.
Stephen Bates, a journalism and media professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, pointed out that Las Vegas and Nevada today have more strong, independent news organizations compared to other regions, offering readers diverse options. However, Genelle Belmas, a journalism professor at the University of Kansas specializing in media law, expressed disappointment at the potential end of the country’s last joint operating agreement. She highlighted the value of having two differing viewpoints in one place, noting that online news outlets often reinforce echo chambers. "Every local news outlet we lose — and that includes big towns, small towns, whatever — is a loss of perspective and a loss of a potential alternative view," Belmas remarked.
Background on the Newspapers
The Sun was founded in 1950 in response to the Review-Journal’s refusal to negotiate with typesetters from the International Typographical Union, with businessman Hank Greenspun providing financial backing. The Greenspun family still owns the paper. In contrast, the Review-Journal, publishing since 1909 as the Clark County Review, is owned by the Adelson family, known as casino magnates and major GOP donors, and remains Nevada’s largest newspaper. Editorially, the Review-Journal leans conservative, while the Sun leans liberal.
The 1970 law allowing such agreements was enacted when news options were less prevalent, with concerns over news monopolies. Today, as media landscapes evolve, this decision underscores ongoing challenges in the newspaper industry, balancing financial sustainability with community impact and editorial diversity.
