Detroit’s second newspaper said it is failing.

The Detroit Free Press said it has lost $8.3 million in the first six months of this year, 18% more than the two quarters last year. In the same time period, the rival Detroit News lost $3.5 million, the Free Press said. The paper disclosed the losses in documents filed with the Justice Department. The two Detroit papers are seeking federal approval of their plan to merge business operations while maintaining separate editorial voices, a so-called joint operating agreement. Last month, the department’s antitrust division said the papers had failed to prove that the Free Press is failing.