Owner of Denver Post, 53 other daily newspapers wins court approval of bankruptcy plan

Judge approves Affiliated Media’s bankruptcy plan

WILMINGTON, Del. — A bankruptcy judge has approved the reorganization plan of the company that publishes The Denver Post, San Jose Mercury News and 52 other daily newspapers.

Thursday’s decision will let Affiliated Media Inc. emerge from bankruptcy protection by April 1, according to a company spokesman. Affiliated is the holding company for MediaNews Group and is headed by William Dean Singleton. He also is chairman of The Associated Press.

The restructuring will wipe out most of Affiliated’s $930 million debt and hand ownership of the company to a group of lenders led by Bank of America.

Singleton and Affiliated’s management team are remaining. The company’s president, Joseph Lodovic, will get a $250,000 bonus because the plan was approved so quickly.

(This version corrects the date the company expects to emerge from bankruptcy protection.)