The Mid-Ocean News, the sister newspaper of The Royal Gazette, will suspend publication indefinitely on Friday.

Chris Whittle, president of Bermuda Press (Holdings) Ltd. which owns both newspapers, said the board of directors had taken the decision with deep regret and great sadness.

He said the sole reason for the decision was financial.

A statement from the board said: "Unfortunately, we have not been able to stem continuing and significant operating losses and, because of the very difficult environment for all our businesses, we are unable to continue to absorb these losses.

"Wherever possible, staff will be transferred to other areas of our operations. Where this is not possible, they will receive redundancy pay in accordance with the law.

"The Board wishes to express its sincere gratitude to all of them for their efforts over the years. We also appreciate very much the support of our loyal readers."

The Mid-Ocean News has six editorial staff. The newspaper was founded in 1911 by the Toddings family.

An afternoon paper for many years, it was bought by The Royal Gazette Ltd. in 1962.

In 1968, it was revamped to be a weekend paper that came out once a week on Saturday. Its publication date moved to Friday in 1976.

Mid-Ocean News Editor Tim Hodgson said that he deeply regretted the decision but said it was understandable in the current economic climate.

"I am very proud of the work we have done at The Mid-Ocean News over the years.

"This is a sad day for the current staff of the newspaper and the many fine journalists who have worked here over its long history serving the Bermuda community."

Although The Mid-Ocean News will cease publication, a number of its popular features will move to The Royal Gazette, including the television guide TV Week.

"We at The Royal Gazette newspaper are deeply saddened by the news that our sister paper will be closing. Over the years, we have enjoyed often fierce but always friendly competition with 'The Mid-O'. As journalists, we are always saddened to see a media voice silenced," Royal Gazette Editor Bill Zuill said.

The newspaper industry in Bermuda and around the world has been hit hard by the advent of the Internet and by the current recession, which has affected both circulation and advertising revenue.

Among the large city newspapers that have closed are the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colorado while several smaller newspapers have closed as well.

In Britain, as of February, 2009, around 50 daily and weekly regional newspapers had closed, although this was offset by some start-ups.