Gannett Sells Four Daily Newspapers to GateHouse MediaBack to News

McLEAN, VA, APRIL 12, 2007 – Gannett Co. Inc. today announced an agreement to sell four daily newspapers to GateHouse Media Inc. for $410 million. The sale is subject to regulatory review and is expected to close at the end of this month.

Dirks, Van Essen & Murray, a newspaper merger-and-acquisition firm based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, represented Gannett Co. Inc. in the transaction. The four are: the Norwich (CT) Bulletin; the Rockford (IL) Register Star; the Observer-Dispatch in Utica, NY; and The Herald-Dispatch in Huntington, WV.

“This sale makes perfect sense for Gannett as we move forward under our strategic plan,” said Sue Clark-Johnson, president of Gannett’s Newspaper Division. “It’s very difficult to say good-bye. We deeply appreciate all the hard work by the employees of these terrific newspapers over the many years they have been part of the Gannett family.”

Gannett Co. Inc. is a leading international news and information company that publishes 90 daily newspapers in the USA, including USA TODAY, the nation’s largest-selling daily newspaper. The company also owns nearly 1,000 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 nearly 300 titles, including 18 daily newspapers, and a network of prize-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.

GateHouse Media Inc., headquartered in Fairport, New York, is one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the United States as measured by number of daily publications. GateHouse currently owns more than 450 community publications, including 84 daily newspapers located in 19 states across the country, and more than 245 related local websites.