Lee Enterprises Newspapers Report Audience Growth

DAVENPORT, Iowa--(Business Wire)--
Both print and online audiences continued to grow in March at
newspapers owned by Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE: LEE).

According to research conducted in Lee's 10 largest markets by
Wilkerson & Associates, Lee newspapers and online sites reach 72
percent of all adults in their markets, an increase from 68 percent a
year ago.

The printed newspapers themselves reach 66 percent of all adults
in the markets over seven days, an increase from 64 percent in March
2007. An additional 6 percent of adults in the market accessed the
newspaper online sites but did not read the newspaper, compared with 5
percent a year earlier, according to the research, which carries a
margin of error of less than 3 percent.

The audience report coincides with the six-month Audit Bureau of
Circulations Fas-Fax report Monday, which showed industry declines of
3.6 percent in daily paid circulation compared with a year ago.

For the six-month period that ended March 31, 2008, Lee newspapers
reported average declines of 3.3 percent daily and 1.1 percent Sunday.

Of the 50 Lee newspapers in the Fas-Fax summaries, 23 reported
circulation gains.

Nine reported year-over-year growth for both daily and Sunday: The
Pantagraph in Bloomington, IL; The Sentinel in Carlisle, PA; the
Independent Record in Helena, MT; The Garden Island in Lihue, HI; The
Daily News in Longview, WA; The Times of Northwest Indiana in Munster;
the Daily Journal in Park Hills, MO, the Sioux City Journal in Iowa,
and The Courier in Waterloo, IA.

Five reported gains in daily circulation: the Arizona Daily Sun in
Flagstaff, AZ; the Fremont Tribune and the Lincoln Journal Star in
Nebraska; the Ledger-Independent in Maysville, KY; and The Daily
Herald in Provo, UT.

Nine reported Sunday gains: The Montana Standard in Butte; The
Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale; the Columbus Telegram in Nebraska;
the Quad-City Times in Davenport, IA; the Herald & Review in Decatur,
IL; the Napa Valley Register in California; The Times and Democrat in
Orangeburg, SC; The Journal-Times in Racine, WI; and the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch.

The Post-Dispatch led the newspaper industry's 25 largest daily
newspapers in Sunday circulation gains, climbing 1.7 to 414,564. Daily
circulation declined 8.6% to 255,057, compared with a year earlier,
which included exceptionally strong sales during the World Series.

The Post-Dispatch ranks second nationally behind the Washington
Post in Sunday print penetration and fifth daily among the 25 largest
markets in the United States as reported by Scarborough Research.

As part of the Fas-Fax report, ABC released print and online
audience data from Scarborough Research showing that the combination
of the Post-Dispatch and www.stltoday.com reaches 57 percent of the
adults in the designated market area, which is the second best reach
of any newspaper/online combination in the 25 largest U.S markets.

Lee's 54 daily newspapers have circulation of 1.6 million daily
and 1.9 million Sunday, reaching more than four million readers daily.
Lee's online sites reach 12 million unique visitors monthly, and Lee's
weekly publications have distribution of more than 4.5 million
households.

Lee is based in Davenport, Iowa, and its stock is traded on the
New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LEE. For more information
about Lee, please visit www.lee.net.

Lee Enterprises
Dan Hayes, 563-383-2100
dan.hayes@lee.net

Copyright Business Wire 2008