The federal government filed an antitrust lawsuit Thursday in an attempt to block Tribune Publishing from buying the bankrupt Orange County Register and Press-Enterprise newspapers in Southern California, The Associated Press reported today. The suit was filed in federal court hours after Tribune, which publishes the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune, announced it had placed a winning $56 million bid for the two newspapers owned by Freedom Communications. The sale would give Tribune a monopoly over newspaper sales in Orange and Riverside counties and allow it to increase subscription prices and advertising rates, U.S. Justice Department said in a statement. A federal bankruptcy court judge still must approve the sale and has set a hearing for Monday. The Associated Press is among the creditors in Freedom's bankruptcy proceedings.
