Why one Las Vegas newspaper just stopped printing its rival

Key Points:

• The Las Vegas Review-Journal announced it will stop printing the Las Vegas Sun as an insert, ending a 76-year joint operating agreement designed to preserve newspaper competition and editorial diversity under a 1970 law.
• The Sun, which remains editorially independent and maintains a website and social media presence, is preparing to resume print publication independently and is seeking a court order to reinstate printing.
• A lower court ruled the joint operating agreement unenforceable due to a missing 2005 federal approval, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the Sun’s appeal, marking a legal defeat for the Sun.
• The joint operating agreement, initiated in 1989 to help the financially struggling Sun, allowed the Review-Journal to handle production and revenue while paying the Sun for editorial costs; its end reflects a broader decline in such newspaper partnerships nationwide.
• Experts note that while Las Vegas has multiple independent news sources today, the loss of the print partnership may reduce editorial diversity and local perspectives, potentially limiting public access to alternative viewpoints.