• by Erik Sass , January 29, 2009

The mid-Atlantic region got a little less newsy this week with dual announcements that the Baltimore Examiner is closing, and The Washington Post is axing its stand-alone book review section, "Book World."

The Washington Post's stand-alone Sunday book-review section, "Book World," will cease publication as a separate section after Feb. 15. The book review content will appear in two other parts of the newspaper in the future: "Style" and "Outlook." The section will also continue to publish book news online; it's unclear whether any employees will be affected by this move.

The Baltimore Examiner, a free daily tabloid launched three years ago to compete with The Baltimore Sun, will also cease publication with its Feb. 15 issue, putting about 90 people out of work. The decision was made by Clarity Media Group, which also publishes free daily papers The Washington D.C. Examiner and The San Francisco Examiner.

In a memo, President and CEO Ryan McKibben praised the newspaper's editorial staff, but said that the push to develop "synergistic" advertising programs with the Washington D.C. sister paper had not translated into hope-for ad revenues. He added that Clarity had looked for a buyer for the newspaper in recent months, but without success.

Here the Baltimore Examiner fell prey to the same trends that have stalled other newspaper sales, with investors increasingly skeptical about the medium's viability and bankers leery of lending because of the global credit crunch.

Over the last year, a number of newspapers went up for sale only to grow moldy on the auction block. In December, E.W. Scripps said it will close the Rocky Mountain News if it can't find a buyer. Earlier this month, Hearst put The Seattle Post-Intelligencer up for sale; however, the newspaper is likely to close, as no buyer has stepped forward.

The San Diego Union-Tribune and the Austin American-Statesman have been on the market without finding a buyer for months. Also in December, the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk was taken off the market after potential buyers could not arrange financing. Finally, McClatchy has been trying to sell The Miami Herald, so far without takers.

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