Bulletin Parent Co. Files for Bankruptcy Protection

Western Communications, which owns The Bulletin in Bend and other properties, says it has filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 in a dispute with a lender over the terms for $18 million in loans.

The company said Wednesday it will continue operating normally. Chairwoman Betsy McCool says the business is “here to stay.”

Company officials quoted (http://bit.ly/oEYydJ ) in the Bulletin said its revenues fell by a quarter during the recession, and it missed profit ratios the loans from Bank of America called for, resulting in higher rates.

McCool says that to meet the bank’s demands, the paper would have to lay off “mass quantities of people, and we’re not going to do that.”

The filing was made Tuesday. Bank officials wouldn’t comment on the loans.