Frankfurter Allgemeine rescues left-leaning rival newspaper

FRANKFURT Feb 28 (Reuters) - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany's leading conservative newspaper, has rescued left-leaning rival Frankfurter Rundschau.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and media house Frankfurter Societaet said on Thursday they would take over the Rundschau from March 1, adding its editorial independence was assured.

The move would help "preserve the diversity of opinion" in the Frankfurt region, as well as 28 journalist positions out of the Rundschau's previous 450 employees. The Rundschau's former owners declared insolvency in November after years of losses.

The gloom hanging over the country's newspapers, struggling with a post-crisis drop in advertising revenue and subscribers switching to online media, was compounded in December when business daily Financial Times Deutschland ceased publication. (Reporting by Jonathan Gould; Editing by Dan Lalor)