News Release Details

MADISON, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 14, 2006--James W. Hopson, Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE:LEE) vice president for publishing and publisher of the Wisconsin State Journal, announced today that he plans to retire at the end of the calendar year.

"I've been very fortunate to work for Lee and I'm very proud of what we've accomplished in Madison, but there are a number of things my wife and I want to do while we're healthy enough to enjoy them," he said. "On one hand I'm excited about having the time and freedom to pursue things I've deferred for many years, but on the other I will very much miss working alongside the talented, dedicated people here and contributing to the growth of this terrific company."

Mary Junck, Lee chairman and chief executive officer, said a search for a successor will begin immediately.

"Jim is a wonderful person - smart, innovative and caring - and people from throughout our company will miss both his leadership and fellowship," she said. "He has been a key leader in Lee, responsible not only for the Wisconsin State Journal but also for nine other daily newspapers in Wisconsin and Minnesota. As a member of Lee's top executive team, he also has filled significant company-wide roles in strategic planning and integration of new properties. We wish Jim and his wife, Julie, great happiness in their well-earned retirement."

Hopson also is chairman of Capital Newspapers, which is jointly owned by Lee and The Capital Times Co. Before joining Lee in 2000, he was vice president of Thomson for Ohio operations, as well as president and chief executive officer for Thomson's Central Ohio Strategic Marketing Group. Before that, he was president of Community Newspaper Company, president of the News-Transcript Group and publisher of the Metrowest Daily News, all in Massachusetts; publisher of The Press of Atlantic City; general manager of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, and circulation director of the Des Moines Register.

He has been involved in many community and industry activities. He is currently a director of the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the United Way of Dane County, the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, the Madison Art Center and the Access Community Health Centers. He has a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and an MBA from Harvard University. He and his wife have two sons and a daughter.

Lee is a premier publisher of newspapers in midsize markets, with 52 dailies and a joint interest in six others through Madison Newspapers Inc., a rapidly growing online business and more than 300 weekly newspapers and specialty publications in 23 states. Lee's newspapers have circulation of 1.7 million daily and 1.9 million Sunday, reaching more than four million readers daily, and its weekly publications have distribution of more than 4.5 million households. Lee's newspapers include such diverse markets as Napa, Calif.; Bloomington, Ill.; Billings, Mont.; Escondido, Calif.; Madison, Wis.; and St. Louis, Mo. 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 Enterprises, please visit www.lee.net.

CONTACT: Lee Enterprises, Incorporated, Davenport
Dan Hayes, 563-383-2163
Dan.Hayes@Lee.net

SOURCE: Lee Enterprises, Incorporated