Gannett Plans to Sell Indiana Daily

By: Gannett Co. has donated the Chronicle-Tribune newspaper to its charitable arm, which plans to sell the paper in about 30 days.

Chronicle-Tribune Publisher Juli Metzger and Gannett Interstate Newspaper Group Vice President Gary Suisman told the newspaper's staff about the sale plans on Monday.

Suisman did not say why the paper was being sold. Proceeds from the sale will go to the Gannett Foundation.

"We have prospective buyers, which is a good thing," Suisman said. "It could be economic, it could be geographic, it could be a lot of things."

Metzger said the paper's 75 employees will keep their benefits pending the sale and that operations will continue as normal for both print and online products.

The Chronicle-Tribune is published seven days a week and has a circulation of about 18,000. It has won the Hoosier State Press Association's Blue Ribbon award as the state's best daily newspaper nine times since 1972, most recently in 1999 and 2001.

Gannett has owned the Chronicle-Tribune since 1971. The Virginia-based corporation owns 102 daily papers in the United States, including four others in Indiana - The Indianapolis Star, the Journal & Courier of Lafayette, The Star Press of Muncie and the Palladium-Item of Richmond.

Gannett this month sold four newspapers to GateHouse Media for $410 million. Those newspapers were in Connecticut, Illinois, New York and West Virginia.