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York, Pennsylvania has always been an offbeat kind of newspaper town, so perhaps it is fitting that, in an unusual deal, the owners of York's two dailies recently merged properties. There are strategic reasons for this transaction. The two newspapers that serve the region, which are now in a joint operating agreement (JOA), are the "Daily Record," a morning paper with 46,500 weekday circulation, and the "York Dispatch," with 37,300 weekday and 93,200 Sunday circulation. Another unusual fact about York is that for a long time it was perhaps the only U.S. city to have an independently owned Sunday newspaper, the "York Sunday News." York had three newspaper ownerships, the two weekday dailies and an independent Sunday. When the two newspapers entered into the JOA, MediaNews received an option to buy the "Daily Record," which became the basis for the recent transaction. In effect, the option was insurance against the time when the afternoon syndrome might begin to erode the Dispatch's circulation. Indeed, over the last five years the Dispatch's circulation has declined more than 7 percent while the Record's has gained nearly 7 percent. Thus, the transaction brought MediaNews what it probably wanted all along, control of a seven-day morning newspaper.

Discusses the international impact of an advertisement published in the 'City Paper' in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the Saint Jack's bar, which depicted Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej as a hipster. Excerpt from a letter written by Voravee Wirasamban, consul general of the Royal Thai Consulate in New York to bar manager Sherry Levin, expressing his disappointment over the advertisement; Description of the advertisement; Threats against Levin.

Deals with the no good news or negativity charges against the `Tribune-Democrat' newspaper of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Criticisms on David M. Levine, the paper's editor; Actions taken by a group of city business people; Comments by Mayor Donato B. Zucco; Reasons Johnstown needs a good public relations campaign; Opinion on the paper's tabloid sense of journalism.

Focuses on the job restructuring plan of 'Philadelphia Inquirer' editor Walker Lundy in Pennsylvania in 2002, with the goal of increasing the newspaper's circulation. Drop in the newspaper's circulation since 2000; Number of positions created under the plan; Suburban zones covered by the paper; Comments from the newspaper's staff.

This article introduces the reader-friendly tabloid version of the broadsheet Patriot-News which is being circulated in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania as of August 2005. Unlike the tabloids launched in recent years by many major daily newspapers, it is not free and it is not expressly designed to appeal to young readers or commuters. Instead, the Patriot-News, part of the Newhouse chain, took a new tack with its compact edition, the Patriot. By culling and trimming the top stories and dropping some comics, police blotters and stock tables, the newspaper has created an abbreviated version of the traditional broadsheet aimed at a more general market: busy people. Furthermore, the Patriot-News is believed to be the first newspaper in North America to offer two different formats daily. However,newspaper analysts say it would be difficult and expensive to run two versions of the same paper indefinitely.

This article discusses the libel suit file against the Daily Local News, a local newspaper of Chester, Pennsylvania, by Chester Mayor Alan M. Wolfe and Councilman James B. Norton III. In 1995, the Daily Local News run a story about Wolfe and Norton based on the statement of another councilman, William T. Glenn Sr. The article reported that Glenn's statement claimed Norton and Wolfe were queers and child molesters. It also reported that Glenn's statement accused Norton of making unwanted homosexual advances toward him . The article e also noted that Norton dismissed Glenn's comments as bizarre and expressed the hope that Glenn could get the help he needs. Glenn lost the election despite his comments but Wolfe and Norton won. After the elections, Wolfe and Norton filed a libel suit against the paper, its publisher William Caufield and Troy Publishing Co., and the reporter who wrote the story. In defense, the newspaper it should not be held liable for accurately reporting what a council member had said about his fellow officials. It claimed that it was protected by the constitutional privilege of neutral reportage, first articulated by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1977 in Edwards vs. National Audubon Society. The problem was that only a handful of jurisdictions have adopted the neutral report privilege. In October 2004, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declined to join them. So in January 2005, the Daily Local News asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review and reverse the case.