GANNETT CO., INC. 7950 JONES BRANCH DR. MCLEAN, VA 22107 WWW.GANNETT.COM “Today, we stand as a stronger and better positioned 2009 ANNUAL REPORT • REPORT 2009 ANNUAL INC. GANNETT CO., company.” 2009 ANNUAL REPORT h 00069463 TABLE SHAREHOLDER OF CONTENTS SERVICES 2009 Financial Summary . 1 GANNETT STOCK THIS REPORT WAS WRITTEN Letter to Shareholders . 2 Gannett Co., Inc. shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange with the symbol GCI. The AND PRODUCED BY EMPLOYEES company’s transfer agent and registrar is Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. General inquiries and requests OF GANNETT. Board of Directors . 7 for enrollment materials for the programs described below should be directed to Wells Fargo Vice President and Controller Shareowner Services, P.O. Box 64854, St. Paul, MN 55164-0854 or by telephone at 1-800-778-3299 Company and Divisional Officers . 8 George Gavagan or at www.wellsfargo.com/contactshareownerservices. Director of Consolidations and Form 10-K DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT PLAN Financial Reporting The Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRP) provides Gannett shareholders the opportunity to Cam McClelland purchase additional shares of the company’s common stock free of brokerage fees or service charges through automatic reinvestment of dividends and optional cash payments. Cash Vice President/Corporate payments may range from a minimum of $10 to a maximum of $5,000 per month. Communications Robin Pence AUTOMATIC CASH INVESTMENT SERVICE FOR THE DRP Senior Manager/Publications This service provides a convenient, no-cost method of having money automatically with- Laura Dalton drawn from your checking or savings account each month and invested in Gannett stock through your DRP account. Creative Director/Designer Michael Abernethy DIRECT DEPOSIT SERVICE Gannett shareholders may have their quarterly dividends electronically credited to their Printing checking or savings accounts on the payment date at no additional cost. Action Printing, Fond du Lac, Wis. ANNUAL MEETING PHOTO CREDITS: The annual meeting of shareholders will be held at 10 a.m. (E.T.) Tuesday, May 4, 2010, at COMPANY PROFILE: Gannett is an international media and marketing solutions company providing millions of people with the Gannett headquarters. Page 2: Dubow by Gretchen information they want; and connecting them to their communities of interest through multiple platforms including Internet, mobile, Ortega. newspapers, magazines and TV. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE Page 3: iPhone by Nate As an innovative industry leader, Gannett engages consumers wherever they are with its powerful brands and trusted content. The We have posted on our Web site (www.gannett.com) our principles of corporate governance, company helps businesses grow by providing marketing solutions that reach and engage their customers across its diverse platforms. ethics policy and the charters for the audit, digital technology, nominating and public respon- Lauterstein, Gannett. Gannett is a digital leader with more than 100 U.S. newspaper and TV station web sites; CareerBuilder.com, the nation’s top sibility and executive compensation committees of our board of directors, and we intend to Page 5: Chapman by Jim employment site which is expanding rapidly internationally; and Gannett Digital Media Network, which includes top brands like post updates to these corporate governance materials promptly if any changes (including Douglas, KARE-TV; Pulitzer by USATODAY.com, MomsLikeMe.com, HighSchoolSports.net, Metromix.com, and action sports networks BNQT and Venture. through any amendments or waivers of the ethics policy) are made. This site also provides Mandi Wright, Detroit Free Press. Helping to further Gannett’s scope as a marketing solutions company is PointRoll, a leading online advertising rich-media provider, access to our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports and ShopLocal, a leader in connecting advertisers and consumers online and in-store. PointRoll and ShopLocal work together to on Form 8-K as filed with the SEC. Our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Craig A. Dubow, Page 7: Directors’ photos by provide online advertisers with rich media advertising solutions. Ripple6 helps advertisers deploy easy – yet powerful – social media and our President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, Gracia C. Martore, have Stacey Tate, Gannett, except solutions. delivered, and we have filed with our 2009 Form 10-K, all certifications required by the rules of Dubow by Gretchen Ortega. At the same time, the company’s 82 U.S. Community Publishing information centers reach deep into local communities through the SEC. Complete copies of our corporate governance materials and our Form 10-K may be newspapers, web sites, mobile content and niche/custom publications. With USA TODAY, they have a combined daily paid circulation obtained by writing our Secretary at our corporate headquarters. of approximately 6 million, providing crucial neighborhood-to-national news and information. In accordance with the rules of the New York Stock Exchange, our Chairman and Chief USA TODAY’s iPhone and Android applications, combined, have reached 2.8 million downloads and consistently rank either No. 1 or Executive Officer, Craig A. Dubow, has certified, without qualification, that he is not aware of No. 2 in the news category. USA TODAY’s partnership with Amazon provides consumers with another way to access USA TODAY’s any violation by Gannett of the NYSE’s corporate governance listing standards. award-winning content wherever they are through their Kindle devices. In addition, USA TODAY is the U.S.’s largest-selling daily print FOR MORE INFORMATION newspaper and USATODAY.com is one of the most popular sites of the web with more than 56 million visits per month at the end of 2009. Printed on recycled paper. News and information about Gannett is available on our Web site. Quarterly earnings infor- The Broadcasting Division’s 23 TV stations reach 21 million households, covering 18.2 percent of the U.S. population. Through its mation will be available around the middle of April, July and October 2010. Shareholders This report was printed using Captivate subsidiary, the Broadcasting Division delivers news, information and advertising to a highly desirable audience demographic who wish to contact the company directly about their Gannett stock should call Shareholder soy-based inks. The entire report on its video screens located in elevators of office towers and select hotel lobbies across North America. Services at Gannett headquarters, 703-854-6960. contains 10% total recovered In the U.K., Newsquest is the second largest regional publisher and its digital portfolio of newspaper and online-only brands attracts fiber/all post-consumer waste. nearly 6 million unique users each month. It has a portfolio of 17 daily paid-for newspapers and more than 200 weekly newspapers, Gannett Headquarters magazines and trade publications. Newsquest also owns half of the U.K.’s biggest online employment web site, fish4jobs.co.uk, and 7950 Jones Branch Drive wholly owns a successful online publisher called s1 in Scotland. McLean, VA 22107 For more information, visit www.gannett.com. 703-854-6000 2009 FINANCIAL SUMMARY Operating revenues, in millions In thousands, except per share amounts 05 $7435 2009 2008 Change 06 $7848 Operating revenues . $ 5,612,993 $ 6,767,650 (17%) 07 $7439 Operating income (loss) . $ 725,183 $ (6,761,655) *** 08 $6768 Income (loss) from continuing 09 $5613 operations attributable to Gannett Co., Inc. $ 355,270 $ (6,647,565) *** Income from continuing operations attributable to Gannett Co., Income (loss) per share from Inc. before asset impairment and other special items, in millions continuing operations – diluted . $ 1.51 $ (29.11) *** 05 $1186 Income from continuing operations 06 $1138 attributable to Gannett Co., Inc. 07 $1068 (1) before asset impairment and other special items (1) . $ 441,645 $ 779,836 (43%) 08 $780 (1) 09 $442 (1) Income per share from continuing operations before asset impairment and other charges – diluted (1) . $ 1.87 $ 3.41 (45%) Income per share (diluted) from continuing operations before asset impairment and other special items Working capital . $ 148,939 $ 88,803 68% 05 $4.82 Long-term debt . $ 3,061,951 $ 3,816,942 (20%) 06 $4.81 07 $4.57 (1) Total assets . $ 7,148,432 $ 7,796,814 (8%) 08 $3.41 (1) Capital expenditures . $ 67,737 $ 165,000 (59%) 09 $1.87 (1) Shareholders’ equity . $ 1,603,925 $ 1,055,882 52% Dividends per share . $ 0.16 $ 1.60 (90%) Weighted average common shares outstanding – diluted . 236,027 228,345 3% (1) Results for 2009 exclude pre-tax asset impairment and other special items of $116 million ($86 million after tax or $.36 per share). Results for 2008 exclude pre-tax asset impairment and other special items of $8.40 billion ($7.43 billion after tax or $32.52 per share). Results for 2007 exclude pre-tax asset impairment and other special items of $137 million ($93 million after tax or $.40 per share). These charges are more fully discussed in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and the Consolidated Financial Statement sections of this report. 2009 GANNETT ANNUAL REPORT 1 LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS began like no other year. Financial markets were generated $1.1 billion in operating cash flow and reduced our 2009 in turmoil and our industry wrestled with the debt by $755 million. Net income attributable to Gannett exclud- twin forces of an unprecedented economic downturn and indus- ing special items was $442 million. We accelerated changes try transformation. underway within our businesses and fundamentally restructured At Gannett, we faced the challenges head on. We successfully how we do business. Throughout, we maintained our level of managed through this period of enormous uncertainty, making excellence, became more efficient and our employees’ work some very tough decisions along the way. At the same time, our continued to be recognized nationally and locally, including the employees continued to innovate, challenge and change the very coveted Pulitzer Prize for the Detroit Free Press.