The title's owners Matthew Freud and Piers Morgan have informed staff they are ready to pull the plug because of the lack of interest from potential buyers, although there is a "small chance" one may come forward, according to a source at the title.
Last week, Press Gazette editor Ian Reeves called for the publishing industry to rescue the title by collectively setting up a trust to buy it. This would also solve the industry's concerns about the title being owned by Freud, a PR man married to Times and Sun owner Rupert Murdoch's daughter Elisabeth, and Morgan, who was sacked as Daily Mirror editor.
However, the proposals met with a cool response, with many questioning whether diverse media organisations had sufficient common interest to band together to preserve a magazine that attempts to cater for a wide range of journalists.
Press Gazette's website is carrying the story about the move into administration today, with Reeves quoted as being encouraged by the response from some key players in national and regional newspapers and magazines, but warning that "time is short".
Buyers may also have been put off by the finances of Press Gazette, which is supported by revenue from the British Press Awards and has historically lost money on its publishing activity.
Freud and Morgan, who bought Press Gazette in June 2005, became frustrated with the industry's lack of support for the awards. This year's awards were boycotted by Associated Newspapers, Express Newspaper and the Telegraph Group and there were only 450 guests compared with nearly 900 in 2005.
The three newspaper groups withdrew expressly because of Freud and Morgan, who they claimed were "inappropriate administrators".
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