Newspaper folds into Black hole

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Sun-Times Media, owner of the Chicago Sun-Times, has filed for bankruptcy protection, citing the legal fees of its former chief executive Conrad Black as a major cause of its problems.   Previously known as Hollinger International, the Chicago-based Sun-Times group once controlled a global network of papers.   "The significant downturn in print advertising ÔǪ has continued to severely impact us," said chairman Jeremy Halbreich. "Unfortunately, this deteriorating economic climate, coupled with a significant pending tax liability dating back to previous management has led to today's difficult action."   The group said its main creditor was the Internal Revenue Service, to which it owes over $600 million in back taxes and penalties from the Conrad Black episode.   An indemnity clause guaranteeing that the company would protect its directors against legal action has cost the company almost $120 million in legal costs as Black and senior executive colleagues were convicted of fraud and jailed in 2007.   The recession in the US has hit advertisers and newspapers hard, while their growing online business has not yet generated the revenue to offset declining circulations.   Several big US newspapers have closed as commercial revenue collapses, including the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Denver's Rocky Mountain News. The Chicago Tribune is also operating under bankruptcy protection.   *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *