A hearing on a joint newspaper venture was set.

The Justice Department announced that it would hold a hearing on an application by Gannett Co. and Knight-Ridder Inc. to operate jointly two competing metropolitan newspapers in Detroit, the News and the Free Press. The two companies formed their joint venture, called the Detroit Newspaper Agency, last year, citing continuing losses by both papers. Under the agreement, business operations would be merged, but the newspapers’ separate identities would be retained. The joint venture requires Justice Department approval of an exemption from antitrust provisions.