CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has asked a Putnam County judge to require the Daily Gazette Company to turn over information about the joining of the Gazette and the Daily Mail newspapers.
Morrisey’s office filed a petition last week in Putnam Circuit Court asking that a judge require the company to comply with an investigative subpoena about the newly formed Charleston Gazette-Mail.
The Attorney General’s office is looking into whether any antitrust violations occurred under state law when the newsrooms combined.
Attorneys for the newspaper argue Morrisey has no probable cause for the subpoena and said they welcome an independent judicial review. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Phillip Stowers.
“The Charleston Gazette-Mail is disappointed in the actions taken by the Attorney General as his actions will only serve to distract from the mission of providing quality news coverage to the State of West Virginia…
