Receiver appointed to Sunday Tribune

A receiver has been appointed to the Sunday Tribune newspaper.

Staff at the title were called to a meeting this afternoon amid mounting fears for the future of the weekly paper.

The newspaper currently has 43 staff.

Insolvency company McStay Luby is expected to seek out potential investment for the title.

The Sunday Tribune is expected to announce tomorrow whether the newspaper will be published on Sunday following the withdrawal of funding by Independent News & Media.

The Irish Secretary of the National Union of Journalists, Seamus Dooley, has called on INM to reverse their decision.

He said it is inexplicable that the future of a serious political newspaper would be thrown into doubt during the middle of a General Election campaign.

INM have only guaranteed to pay the wages of Sunday Tribune staff until the end of February but are not providing money for printing distribution and libel costs.

The paper has been making a loss in a crowded market where there are 17 Sunday newspaper titles.

Independent News and Media, a 29% shareholder in the Tribune, is also its largest creditor.

INM has been an investor in the Sunday Tribune since 1992 and has been providing loans of up to €2.5m a year to keep the loss-making newspaper afloat.