Orange County Register editor Rob Curley will leave the paper following its acquisition last week by Digital First Media.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the editor is among “70-plus” staffers targeted for layoffs at the paper whose sale for $45.5 million was approved by a federal bankruptcy judge last week. Thursday was Curley’s last day after joining the company in 2012.
“I like the fact that we, as a major metropolitan newspaper, can be a strong reflection of our community,” Curley told the Times. “The Register has always been known for taking these big chances visually. It’s caring. It’s thorough. It puts the Brea girls winning the state basketball championships on the cover.”
Digital First, which also owns the Los Angeles Daily News and eight other regional papers, acquired the Register and the Riverside Press-Enterprise from the troubled Freedom Communications after the company declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November.
A judge previously blocked a $56 million bid for the two papers by Tribune Media, which owns the Los Angeles Times. A Justice Department antitrust lawsuit filed earlier this month claimed the move would give the Tribune a monopoly over newspaper sales in the region, allowing it to increase subscription prices and ad rates.
Neither Curley nor the Register immediately responded to TheWrap’s request for comment.