Gannett, Knight Ridder agree to exchange properties in Florida, Washington and Idaho

In the exchange, Knight Ridder will receive from Gannett The(Boise) Idaho Statesman, and two newspapers in the state ofWashington: The (Olympia) Olympian, and The Bellingham Herald. Inreturn, Gannett will receive the Tallahassee (FL) Democrat andundisclosed cash consideration.

The transaction is subject to regulatory review and will closeonce that process is completed.

Gannett President and CEO Craig Dubow said: "Florida, whereGannett already has three TV stations, three newspapers anddistributes Clipper magazine, is a strong and growing region forGannett. The Tallahassee Democrat, in the state's capital, is a keyaddition to the mix. We look forward to bringing them on board.

"In the West, the newspapers in Bellingham, Olympia and Boise havebeen in the Gannett family since 1971 and it will be very hard to saygood-bye. But we are confident they are in good hands, and will thriveas part of the Knight Ridder western strategy."

Knight Ridder Chairman and CEO Tony Ridder said, "As we continueto review our portfolio of newspapers, other print products, Internetsites and investments, we are constantly impressed by the performanceof our mid-sized and smaller newspapers - especially those in growthareas. This exchange gives us the opportunity to add three newspapersin robust western markets. Each one performs strongly; together, theywill make a very solid addition to our existing lineup.

"Simultaneously, we feel keenly the loss of the TallahasseeDemocrat. Its journalistic tradition in the state capital is deeplyrooted; its people - friends and colleagues for many years - aretalented and dedicated. We thank them and wish them well. We will missthem."

Gannett announced these executive changes at the papers:

Boise, ID: Leslie Hurst becomes president and publisher ofGannett's Lansing State Journal. She was president and publisher ofThe Idaho Statesman. Michael G. Kane, who was president and publisherof the Lansing State Journal, will become president and publisher ofthe Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle.

Bellingham, WA: Christine Chin will join the staff of The ArizonaRepublic. She was president and Publisher of The Bellingham Herald.

Olympia, WA: Bob Ritter will remain with Gannett in a position tobe announced later. He was president and publisher of The Olympian.

Tallahassee, FL: Patrick Dorsey becomes president and publisher ofthe Tallahassee Democrat. He was director/finance and group controllerfor Florida TODAY, Gannett's operation in Brevard.

About Gannett Co., Inc.

Gannett Co., Inc. is a leading international news and informationcompany that publishes 101 daily newspapers in the USA, including USATODAY, the nation's largest-selling daily newspaper. The company alsoowns more than 800 non-daily publications in the USA and USA WEEKEND,a weekly newspaper magazine. Gannett subsidiary Newsquest is theUnited Kingdom's second largest regional newspaper company. Newsquestpublishes more than 300 titles, including 17 daily newspapers, and anetwork of prize-winning Web sites. Gannett also operates 21television stations in the United States and is an Internet leaderwith sites sponsored by its TV stations and newspapers includingUSATODAY.com, one of the most popular news sites on the Web.