Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, publisher of the Daily News and the Inquirer, and owner of philly.com, announced today that it is voluntarily restructuring its debt under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

The case was filed yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, by attorney Lawrence G. McMichael, of Dilworth Paxson LLP.

The company emphasized that it would continue normal operations of its newspapers, magazines and online businesses without interruption during the debt-restructuring process.

"Philadelphia Newspapers' goal is to bring its debt in line with the realities of the current economic and business conditions," said Brian Tierney, chief executive officer.

"Over the last two years, we have made significant progress in improving the quality of our journalism, building a relationship based on mutual trust and respect with our unions, making our operations among the most efficient in the industry and innovatively serving our readers and advertisers.

"This restructuring is focused solely on our debt, not our operations. Our operations are sound and profitable. We are the medium of choice in this region for advertisers and readers.