• The Associated Press, Sunday, February 22, 2009 12 AM

Newspaper publisher the Journal Register filed for Chapter 11 protection Saturday, joining other publishers that have turned to bankruptcy court to deal with slumping ad revenue and circulation. The Journal Register owns 20 daily and 159 non-daily newspapers serving the Philadelphia and Cleveland, areas as well as Michigan, Connecticut and parts of New York state. It has about 3,500 employees.

The publisher says it expects to operate as usual during restructuring and didn't anticipate any interruption in business. The company has been struggling for months with a massive debt that pushed its credit rating into junk status. Journal Register stock traded as high as $24 a decade ago and was traded for less than one cent on Friday.

The company is proposing a restructuring plan in which it would cancel its stock and become a closely held entity controlled by its lenders. The publisher reported $596 million in assets as of Nov. 30 and $692 million in debt, including unpaid interest. Revenue has fallen more than 20% since 2006.

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