 Paxton Media Group was criticized when it fired nearly 25 percent of the employees of "The Herald-Sun", many of them longtime staples of the newsroom, the day it assumed ownership.Paxton defended the move by claiming that the newsroom was overstaffed and the salaries were causing the Durham, North Carolina paper to post annual losses.According to the Durham-based "Independent Weekly", sources familiar with the Herald-Sun, Co.'s accounting ledgers, the company was operating profitably at least 6 months prior to Paxton's $124 million purchase.