Tribune Publishing, a division of Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB), today announced the sale of its Southern Connecticut Newspapers, The Advocate (Stamford) and Greenwich Time, to Gannett Co., Inc., for $73 million. The sale does not include real estate in Stamford and Greenwich, which Tribune will sell separately after a transitional lease to Gannett.

“With this transaction, we have exceeded our goal of selling $500 million in non-core assets as part of the performance improvement plan we launched in 2006,” said Dennis FitzSimons, Tribune chairman and chief executive officer.

In addition to Southern Connecticut Newspapers, sales completed since mid-2006 include television stations in Boston, Atlanta and Albany; 2.8 million shares of Time Warner common stock; and a former Los Angeles Times printing facility.

“We thank publisher Durrie Monsma and the entire team at Southern Connecticut Newspapers for their dedication to the communities of Stamford, Greenwich and Norwalk,” said Scott Smith, Tribune Publishing president. “The Advocate and Greenwich Time are excellent papers, but do not fit our strategic focus on larger publishing and interactive businesses.”

Tribune acquired The Advocate and Greenwich Time in June 2000, as part of its acquisition of The Times Mirror Company.