TUCSON (Arizona) - TWO more US newspapers have announced plans to publish their final print editions, but will continue operating online, part of a growing trend that has shaken the news industry.

Arizona's oldest continuously published daily newspaper, the Tucson Citizen, will publish its final print edition Saturday. The Ann Arbor News in Michigan plans to publish its last newspaper on July 23.

Many newspapers across the country are struggling to survive mounting losses as readers have migrated to the Internet, advertising revenue has declined drastically and circulation has fallen.

Kate Marymont, Gannett Co vice president for news, told Tucson newspaper's staff on Friday that the paper will continue with a website edition providing commentary and opinion but no news coverage.

Bob Dickey, president of Gannett's US Community Publishing Division, said in a statement that a Tucson Citizen editorial weekly will be printed in the morning Arizona Daily Star to expand the reach of the Citizen's voice.

'Dramatic changes in our industry combined with the difficult economy - particularly in this region - means it is no longer viable to produce two daily printed newspapers in Tucson,' Mr Dickey said.

In January, Gannett, the largest newspaper publisher in the country, announced plans to close the Citizen if it didn't find a buyer for certain assets by March 21.

Only four days before the original planned closing, however, Gannett announced that the shutdown would be delayed because negotiations were continuing with two interested buyers. Those talks ultimately proved unsuccessful. It was unclear how many of the Citizen's 65 employees would lose their jobs.

The Arizona attorney general's office didn't want to let the newspaper die without a fight. It filed a complaint Friday in federal court seeking to halt the closure.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Terry Goddard said the complaint was filed in Tucson shortly before court closed, and a motion seeking a temporary restraining order also was being filed. During its lifetime, the Citizen reported on Arizona's biggest stories, including Marshall Wyatt Earp's fabled 1881 shootout at the OK Corral and the 1934 arrest of bank robber John Dillinger and three other gang members hiding out in Tucson. -- AP