NEW YORK - PUBLISHING group Hearst Corp said on Friday it will put the Seattle Post-Intelligencer up for sale in the face of growing losses for the daily and could scrap the print edition if no buyer is found.

Hearst said in a statement it will also sell its interest in the joint operating agreement (JOA) under which the Post-Intelligencer and The Seattle Times are published in the northwestern state of Washington.

If no buyer is found within 60 days, Hearst 'will pursue other options for the property' including 'a move to a digital-only operation with a greatly reduced staff or a complete shutdown of all operations'.

'In no case will Hearst continue to publish the P-I in printed form following the conclusion of this process,' the statement noted, adding that it would not seek to buy the rival Seattle Times.

The news comes amid growing troubles for the newspaper industry, which has been hit by sharply lower advertising revenues that have not been offset by Internet ads for the media companies.

Hearst, which has owned the P-I since 1921, said the daily with circulation of 114,000 has had operating losses since 2000. It lost around $14 million (S$20.8 million) in 2008 and its forecast anticipates 'a greater loss in 2009,' the company said.

'Our journalists continue to do a spectacular job of serving the people of Seattle, which has been our great privilege for the past 88 years,' said Steven Swartz, president of Hearst Newspapers.

'But our losses have reached an unacceptable level, so with great regret we are seeking a new owner for the P-I.'

Last month, the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press unveiled plans to cut back on home delivery and expand the online offerings on the websites of the papers, detnews.com and freep.com.

The Christian Science Monitor has announced plans to end its daily print edition and become the first national US newspaper to adopt an almost entirely Internet-based strategy. -- AFP