Gannett Offers to Sell Assets of the Tucson Citizen
McLEAN, VA – Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) today said it is offering to sell certain assets of the Tucson (AZ) Citizen. If a sale is not completed by March 21, 2009, Gannett said it will have to close the newspaper.
“The Tucson Citizen has been part of Gannett since 1976 and we deeply regret having to take this step. But dramatic changes in our industry combined with the difficult economy – particularly in this region – mean it is no longer viable for our partnership with Lee Enterprises Incorporated to produce two daily newspapers in Tucson,” said Bob Dickey, president of the U.S. Community Publishing division of Gannett. “We applaud the hard work and ongoing efforts of our employees at the newspaper. Their dedication to journalism and to the community of Tucson deserves the highest praise. We hope for a quick and positive response to this offer.”
The Tucson Citizen is an afternoon newspaper that publishes Monday through Saturday. It is one of the two newspapers produced by TNI Partners as part of a joint operating arrangement (JOA) under the Newspaper Preservation Act. The Arizona Daily Star, which is owned by a subsidiary of Lee Enterprises Incorporated, is the second newspaper in the JOA. TNI Partners provides the production, distribution, sales and other non-editorial business functions for both the Citizen and The Star.
Each newspaper maintains a separate newsroom and the editorial operations of the newspapers are entirely independent. Average daily circulation of the Citizen is 19,851, according to the latest Audit Bureaus of Circulation report. Founded in 1870, the Tucson Citizen has been part of a JOA since 1940.
Offers should be directed to Robert J. Broadwater, managing director of Broadwater & Associates LLC, at (914) 961-5700 or broadwater@broadwaterllc.com.
Gannett Co., Inc. is a leading international news and information company that publishes 85 daily newspapers in the USA, including USA TODAY, the nation’s largest-selling daily newspaper. The company also owns nearly 900 non-daily publications in the USA and USA WEEKEND, a weekly newspaper magazine. Gannett subsidiary Newsquest is the United Kingdom’s second largest regional newspaper company. Newsquest publishes 17 daily paid-for titles, more than 200 weekly newspapers, magazines and trade publications, and a network of award-winning Web sites. Gannett also operates 23 television stations in the United States and is an Internet leader with sites sponsored by its TV stations and newspapers including USATODAY.com, one of the most popular news sites on the Web.
For media inquiries, contact:
Tara Connell
Vice President of Corporate Communications
(703) 854-6049
tjconnel@gannett.com