Reply #1: It was not that long ago...

[punpirate]

... two or three years, I think, that Gannett also took control of the Las Cruces paper. Someone I knew there said that some editors and managers had been moved up from El Paso and was unsure how that would work out--plus there were a number of layoffs when Gannett took over.

From the sound of this, it seems as if neither paper is improving circulation, and Gannett and MediaNews are looking for ways to cut costs by sharing resources. It's probably going to mean more layoffs at both papers.