Sun-Times’ future is cloudy

The owner of the Chicago Sun-Times, a storied newspaper once home to legendary columnist Mike Royko and other greats, followed its hometown rival by filing for bankruptcy protection Tuesday -- raising questions about whether both can survive in a brutal time for newspapers.

The filing was widely seen as a step toward shutting down a feisty paper known for uncovering city scandals and that once went as far as to secretly operate a bar to expose crooked city inspectors.

“We’d be surprised if they are publishing a print daily newspaper by the end of 2010,” said Mike Simonton, a bond analyst at Fitch Ratings.

Sun-Times Media Group Inc., which also owns dozens of suburban newspapers, filed for Chapter 11 protection in a Delaware court -- the fifth newspaper publisher to seek protection from creditors in recent months.

The company listed $479 million in assets and $801 million in debt.

The move comes in the bleakest of times for newspapers, especially in two-newspaper cities, as plummeting advertising revenues have forced closures and bankruptcies.

Tribune Co. -- owner of the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and other newspapers and television stations -- filed for bankruptcy protection in December.

Analysts say it may not be long before Chicago becomes a one-newspaper city.

“I think the recent past suggests that it’s very hard for two newspapers to make it in a town, even in a very big city like Chicago,” said Rick Edmonds, media business analyst at the nonprofit Poynter Institute.