Denver Post publisher William Dean Singleton, who weathered a bankruptcy as CEO of MediaNews Group (the second-largest newspaper publisher by circulation in the United States), will step down from his executive position, according to the Associated Press, enabling him to focus on company properties and possible consolidations as MediaNews seeks ways to improve profitability. The company's president, Joseph J. Lodovic IV, has also announced his retirement, effective immediately. The search is already on for a new CEO, president, and chief revenue officer, and three new directors were hired recently.

What's more, the Wall Street Journal reports that MediaNews Group may soon merge with Freedom Communications, which owns the Colorado Springs Gazette. The San Francisco Chronicle points out that the changes come as dozens of newspapers around the nation continue to struggle to find their place in a journalism industry vastly changed by the Internet and new technologies. In the past, MediaNews has employed the practice of "clustering" to buy up papers in a single region and then lower business costs by sharing resources.