MediaNews Group, owner of "The York Dispatch", purchased the "York Sunday News" in 1988. The next year, "The Daily Record" and "The York Dispatch" sought government approval for a joint operating agreement, a partial merger because "The Daily Record" was facing financial troubles. The U.S. Justice Department approved the JOA in 1990, creating the York Newspaper Co. to manage merged production, circulation and advertising departments. "The Daily Record" and "Dispatch" newsrooms were not part of the merger and to this day remain under separate ownership.