PTZ Pulitzer

Pulitzer Inc. Reports First-Period Revenue For Five Weeks Ended January 30, 2005 ST. LOUIS, Feb. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pulitzer Inc. (NYSE:PTZ) today announced that revenue increased 3.9 percent for the five-week accounting period ended January 30, 2005 when compared to the respective 2004 period. January 2005 advertising revenue in St. Louis and at the 12 Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. ("PNI") markets increased 5.7 percent, with increases of 3.7 percent at the St. Louis operations and 10.5 percent at PNI. On a comparable basis, excluding the results of PNI acquisitions absent in the comparable period of 2005 and 2004, total revenue increased 3.4 percent for the five-week period ended January 30, 2005. Total comparable advertising revenue increased 5.1 percent for the five-week period ended January 30, 2005. First-period 2005 comparable advertising revenue increased 3.7 percent at the St. Louis operations and 8.6 percent at PNI. The principal components of the first-period comparable advertising revenue results for St. Louis and PNI were: -- Comparable retail advertising revenue, including preprints, increased 6.9 percent. Comparable retail ROP revenue decreased 3.0 percent, principally due to weakness in the entertainment, furniture, and home improvement categories, partially offset by strength in the major department store category. St. Louis local territory revenues decreased 3.8 percent. Comparable retail ROP revenue decreased 4.8 percent in St. Louis and increased 0.3 percent at PNI. Comparable retail preprint revenue increased 41.0 percent in St. Louis reflecting, in part, a strong performance by Local Values, the St. Louis Post- Dispatch's direct mail initiative. PNI retail preprint revenue increased 7.5 percent. -- Comparable first-period national advertising revenue, including preprints, increased 10.0 percent versus 2004. This increase was principally due to strength in the telecommunication, insurance, pharmaceutical and packaged goods categories. Comparable national preprint revenue increased 18.6 percent for the period, and comparable national ROP revenue increased 7.7 percent. Comparable national advertising revenue, including preprints, increased 9.1 percent in St. Louis and increased 27.0 percent at PNI. -- Comparable first-period classified revenue increased 1.9 percent versus 2004. Comparable Classified Advertising Revenue Percentage Change 2005 Versus 2004 Total Pulitzer, including Tucson Tucson PERIOD 1 Combined Total Newspaper Newspaper St. Louis PNI Pulitzer Agency Agency Help Wanted 5.7% 37.2% 13.1% 23.5% 14.6% Automotive (7.4%) 1.0% (5.5%) 5.2% (4.3%) Real Estate (5.4%) 15.2% 1.2% (4.8%) 0.7% Total Classified Revenue (3.7%) 17.8% 1.9% 10.7% 2.9% January 2005 revenue associated with the Company's 50 percent interest in the Tucson Newspaper Agency ("TNI") increased 7.8 percent, and total advertising revenue increased 10.4 percent. TNI retail revenue, including preprints, increased 10.5 percent, with a 5.9 percent increase in retail ROP and a 24.1 percent increase in retail preprint revenue. Local territory revenues increased 11.3 percent for the period. TNI national revenue, including preprints, increased 4.1 percent, with both ROP and preprints showing gains. January classified revenue increased 10.7 percent. OTHER On January 30, 2005, Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE:LEE), and Pulitzer Inc. (NYSE:PTZ) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Lee to acquire Pulitzer for a cash purchase price of $64 per share, with enterprise value totaling $1.46 billion. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory clearances and approval by Pulitzer shareholders. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of calendar 2005. Pulitzer Inc., through various subsidiaries and affiliated entities, is engaged in newspaper publishing and related new media activities. The Company's newspaper operations include two major metropolitan dailies, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson, Ariz., and, through its Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. ("PNI") subsidiary, 12 other dailies and more than 75 weekly newspapers, shoppers and niche publications. The PNI dailies are The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.; The Daily Herald, Provo, Utah; the Santa Maria Times, Santa Maria, Calif.; The Napa Valley Register, Napa, Calif.; The World, Coos Bay, Ore.; The Sentinel, Hanford, Calif.; the Arizona Daily Sun, Flagstaff, Ariz.; The Daily Chronicle, DeKalb, Ill.; The Garden Island, Lihue, Hawaii; the Daily Journal, Park Hills, Mo.; The Lompoc Record, Lompoc, Calif.; and The Daily News, Rhinelander, Wisc. The Company's newspaper operations also include the Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis, a group of 38 weekly papers and various niche publications. The Company's new media and interactive initiatives include STLtoday.com in St. Louis, azstarnet.com in Tucson, and Web sites for all of its other dailies. Pulitzer Inc. is the successor to the company originally founded by Joseph Pulitzer in St. Louis in 1878. For further information, visit our Web site at http://www.pulitzerinc.com/ . NOTES: Statements in this press release concerning the Company's business outlook or future economic performance, anticipated profitability, revenues, expenses or other financial items, together with other statements that are not historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined under the Federal Securities Laws. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated in such statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, industry cyclicality, the seasonal nature of the business, changes in pricing or other actions by competitors or suppliers (including newsprint), outcome of labor negotiations, capital or similar requirements, and general economic conditions, any of which may impact advertising and circulation revenues and various types of expenses, as well as other risks detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in "forward-looking statements" are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Accordingly, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such "forward-looking statements," and the Company disclaims any obligation to update the information contained herein or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to such "forward-looking statements" to reflect future events or developments. PULITZER INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES PERIOD REVENUE AND STATISTICAL REPORT (Revenue in thousands--Unaudited) Five Weeks Five Weeks Ended Ended January 30, February 1, 2005 2004 Change (Note 3) Consolidated Operating Revenue (Note 1): Advertising: Retail $ 9,487 $ 9,728 (2.5%) National 2,051 1,905 7.7% Classified 11,945 11,634 2.7% Total 23,483 23,267 0.9% Preprints 6,156 4,785 28.7% Total Advertising 29,639 28,052 5.7% Circulation 7,559 7,704 (1.9%) Other 570 602 (5.3%) Total $37,768 $36,358 3.9% Operating Revenue of Consolidated Subsidiaries: St. Louis Operations (Note 2): Advertising $20,665 $19,933 3.7% Circulation 5,662 5,744 (1.4%) Other 160 176 (9.1%) Total $26,487 $25,853 2.5% Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. Advertising $ 8,974 $ 8,119 10.5% Circulation 1,897 1,960 (3.2%) Other 410 426 (3.8%) Total $11,281 $10,505 7.4% Operating Revenue of Unconsolidated Newspaper Joint Venture: Pulitzer's 50% share of Tucson Newspaper Agency: Advertising $ 4,104 $ 3,719 10.4% Circulation 1,135 1,156 (1.8%) Other 82 59 39.0% Total $ 5,321 $ 4,934 7.8% Note 1 Year-to-year comparisons are affected by acquisitions of weekly newspapers, shoppers, and niche publications within the last 12 months that complement the Company's newspapers in several markets. On a comparable basis, excluding the impact of the acquisitions for comparable ownership periods in each year, advertising and total revenues would have increased as follows: Five Weeks Comparable Change Total Pulitzer PNI Advertising Revenue 5.1% 8.6% Total Revenue 3.4% 5.8% Note 2 Includes revenues of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis, St. Louis e-media operations, and STL Distribution Services. Note 3 Certain reclassifications have been made to the 2004 financial statements and statistical data to conform with the presentation made in 2005. PULITZER INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES PERIOD REVENUE AND STATISTICAL REPORT SELECTED STATISTICAL INFORMATION Five Weeks Five Weeks Ended Ended January 30, February 1, 2005 2004 Change (Note 3) Advertising Linage (in thousands of inches) ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH: Advertising Inches Full run (all zones) Retail 50.6 61.5 (17.7%) National 13.7 13.8 (0.7%) Classified 83.2 87.8 (5.2%) Total 147.5 163.1 (9.6%) Part run (Retail/Classified) 34.4 47.8 (28.0%) Total Inches 181.9 210.9 (13.8%) TUCSON NEWSPAPER AGENCY: Star/Citizen advertising inches Full run (all zones) Retail 131.9 132.5 (0.5%) National 6.0 7.7 (22.1%) Classified 138.6 142.0 (2.4%) Total 276.5 282.2 (2.0%) Part run (Retail/Classified) 2.5 2.3 8.7% Total Inches 279.0 284.5 (1.9%) Five Weeks Five Weeks Ended Ended January 30, February 1, Circulation (Note 4): 2005 2004 Change ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH: Daily 275,668 275,635 0.0% Sunday 432,762 448,304 (3.5%) COMBINED PULITZER NEWSPAPERS, INC.: Daily 190,138 189,572 0.3% Sunday 185,879 187,998 (1.1%) TUCSON NEWSPAPER AGENCY: Star Daily 113,681 111,624 1.8% Citizen Daily 30,588 32,696 (6.4%) Combined Daily 144,269 144,320 (0.0%) Star Sunday 177,243 179,652 (1.3%) Five Weeks Five Weeks Ended Ended January 30, February 1, 2005 2004 Change (Note 3) Online Page Views (in thousands) St. Louis 42,142 35,925 17.3% Combined PNI Web sites 10,320 8,413 22.7% Combined Tucson Web sites 9,135 6,719 36.0% Totals 61,597 51,057 20.6% Note 4 Year-to-date circulation levels represent averages (unaudited) for the current ABC annual audit periods ending September 30 and December 31 for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Tucson Newspaper Agency, respectively. Year-to-date PNI amounts represent combined averages (unaudited) for the annual periods ending December 31. DATASOURCE: Pulitzer Inc. CONTACT: James V. Maloney, Director of Shareholder Relations, of Pulitzer Inc., +1-314-340-8402 Web site: http://www.pulitzerinc.com/

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