Olympian, Bellingham Herald to get new owner

From the AP:

Gannett Co. announced Wednesday it is giving Knight Ridder Inc. three of its papers in Washington and Idaho in exchange for the Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat and an undisclosed amount of cash.

Knight Ridder will take over The Idaho Statesman in Boise and two Washington state newspapers, The Olympian in the state capital and The Bellingham Herald.

The deal, which is subject to regulatory review, will close once that process is completed, probably the first week in September, the companies said in a news release.

What does this mean for the Northwest papers being acquired by Knight Ridder? Not a whole lot:

About 800 employees at the three Northwest newspapers learned about the divestiture during all-employee meetings Wednesday.

"They were told we were very sorry to see them go, but this was a strategic decision for us," said Tara Connell, Gannett vice president for corporate communications. "We loved them and are turning them over to a company with a great reputation that puts them in good hands."

Connell said the exchange made sense for both companies, with Gannett wanting to increase its presence in Florida by acquiring the Democrat and Knight-Ridder seeking a stronger presence in the Pacific Northwest.

Keep in mind also that Knight Ridder owns a 49.5% stake in the Seattle Times Co. Now they own two Washington papers outright - the Olympian and the Bellingham Herald. Though we're not inclined to think the situation will be too different. Gannett and Knight Ridder are fairly similar companies.