Filed by the Registrant  x	Filed by a Party other than the Registrant  o

o	Preliminary Proxy Statement

o	Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))

x	Definitive Proxy Statement

o	Definitive Additional Materials

o	Soliciting Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12

x	No fee required.

o	Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(4) and 0-11.

o	Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing.

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(1)	To elect three directors for terms of three years; and

(2)	To ratify the selection of KPMG LLP as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm.

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•	This Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting; and

•	If you have elected mail delivery, our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 24, 2017 (the "Annual Report"), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on December 8, 2017.

•	The election to our Board of Directors ("Board") of three nominees named in the Proxy Statement (Proposal 1); and

•	The ratification of our Board's selection of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm (Proposal 2).

•	"FOR" each of the nominees to the Board (Proposal 1); and

•	"FOR" ratification of the selection of KPMG LLP as our independent registered accounting firm (Proposal 2).

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•	View our proxy materials for the Annual Meeting; and

•	Instruct us to send future proxy materials to you by email.

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•	In Person. You may vote in person at the Annual Meeting by requesting a ballot when you arrive. You must bring valid picture identification such as a driver’s license or passport and may be requested to provide proof of stock ownership as of the Record Date;

•	Via the Internet. You may vote by proxy via the Internet by following the instructions provided in the Notice (at www.proxypush.com/lee);

•	By Telephone. If you request printed copies of the proxy materials by mail, you may vote by proxy by calling the toll-free number found on the proxy card (1-866-883-3382); or

•	By Mail. If you request printed copies of the proxy materials by mail, you will receive a proxy card and you may vote by proxy by filling out the proxy card and returning it.

•	Via the Internet. You may vote by proxy via the Internet by visiting www.proxyvote.com and entering the control number found in your Notice. The availability of Internet voting may depend on the voting process of the organization that holds your shares; or

•	By Mail. If you request printed copies of the proxy materials by mail, you will receive a voting instruction form and you may vote by proxy by filling out the voting instruction form and returning it in the envelope provided.

•	Are entitled to vote and you are present in person at the Annual Meeting; or

•	Have properly voted by proxy on the Internet, by telephone or by submitting a proxy card or voting instruction form by mail.

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•	As necessary to meet applicable legal requirements;

•	To allow for the tabulation and certification of votes; and

•	To facilitate a successful proxy solicitation.

•	Forwarding the Notice to beneficial owners;

•	Forwarding printed proxy materials by mail to beneficial owners who specifically request them; and

•	Obtaining beneficial owners’ voting instructions.

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•	Preside at all meetings of the Board when the Executive Chairman is not present;

•	Call meetings of the non-management directors, as needed;

•	Develop the agendas for meetings of the non-management directors;

•	Preside at executive sessions of the non-management directors;

•	Confer regularly with the Executive Chairman;

•	Serve as a liaison between the Executive Chairman and the non-management directors;

•	In consultation with the Executive Chairman, review and approve Board meeting schedules and agendas; and

•	Meet with stockholders as appropriate.

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•	The Board has adopted clear corporate governance policies;

•	A majority of the Board is independent of the Company and its management;

•	The non-management directors meet regularly without management present;

•	All members of the Audit Committee, ECC and NCGC are independent;

•	The non-management directors have designated an independent Lead Director to chair their meetings and consult with our Executive Chairman regarding matters considered by the non-management directors;

•	The charters of the Board committees clearly establish their respective roles and responsibilities;

•	We have a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that is monitored by the Audit Committee and is annually affirmed by our directors and executive officers;

•	Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applies to our principal executive officer and all members of our finance staff, including the principal financial and accounting officer;

•	We have a hotline available to all employees and the Audit Committee has procedures in place for the anonymous submission of employee complaints on accounting, internal controls, auditing or other matters; and

•	Our internal audit function maintains critical oversight over the key areas of our business and financial processes and controls, and reports directly to the Audit Committee.

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(1)	All stock awards are fully vested on the grant date of June 1, 2017, subject to the holding period. Stock awards are granted at a price equal to the fair market value on the date of the grant.

(2)	The Lee Foundation, an affiliate of the Company, matches on a dollar-for-dollar basis up to $5,000 annually, charitable contributions made by non-employee directors to qualifying organizations. Such matching contributions are not considered income to the director.

(3)	In September 2016, Mr. Schermer retired from the Company and became a non-employee director.

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(1)	Information is based solely on a report on Form 13(g), filed with the SEC on February 2, 2016. Includes 1,110,000 shares of Common Stock that are issuable upon exercise of a warrant issued in connection with our refinancing in 2014 (the "Warrants"). The Warrants are exercisable by the reporting person at any time prior to expiration on March 31, 2022 at a strike price of $4.19 per share.

(2)	Information is based solely on a report on Form 13(g) filed with the SEC on February 14, 2017.

(3)	Information is based solely on a report on Form 13(g) filed with the SEC on October 9, 2015. Represents 2,970,000 shares of Common Stock that are issuable upon exercise of Warrants. The Warrants are exercisable by the reporting person at any time prior to expiration on March 31, 2022 at a strike price of $4.19 per share.

(1)	The table includes the following shares of Common Stock subject to acquisition within 60 days by the exercise of outstanding stock options: Mr. Bekke - 45,000; Mr. Humenik - 25,000; Ms. Junck - 165,000; Mr. Mowbray - 135,800; Mr. Schermer - 52,600; and all executive officers and directors as a group - 511,450.

(2)

The following directors and named executive officers disclaim beneficial ownership of the following shares, included above: Mr. Schermer - 31,820 shares of Common Stock held by a trust for the benefit of his son, 27,820 shares of Common Stock held by a trust for the benefit of a daughter and 47,640 shares of Common Stock held by separate trusts for the benefit of two other daughters as to which Mr. Schermer shares voting and investment authority.

(3)	None of the shares shown in the table as beneficially owned by directors and executive officers is hedged or pledged as security for any obligation.

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(1)	LTIP.

(2)	Includes the number of securities remaining available for future issuance under our LTIP, our ESPP and our SPP. The ESPP and SPP have not been active since 2008.

(3)	Those securities not issued as a result of cancellation, forfeiture or surrender of previously outstanding options or adjustment of target restricted stock awards remain available for issuance, at the discretion of the ECC, under the LTIP.  Such shares are excluded from the total presented as the amount cannot be ascertained.

•	Total digital revenue, including digital advertising revenue and revenue from digital services, reached $106 million in 2017, an increase of 5.6% over the prior year;

•	Digital advertising revenue totaled $92 million in 2017, an increase of 6.8%; and represented 27.8% of total advertising revenue;

•	Subscription revenue declined 1.1% 2017;

•	Through careful cost controls and business transformation initiatives, the Company reduced cash costs(1) approximately 8.5%, excluding workforce adjustments and other;

•	The Company achieved strong Pro-forma Adjusted EBITDA(1) totaling $158 million in 2017; and

•	Debt was reduced $69 million in 2017 and totaled $548 million at the end of 2017.

(1)	Cash costs and Pro-forma Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) financial measures. See Appendix A for definitions and a reconciliation of Pro-forma Adjusted EBITDA to its closest available GAAP measure.

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•	Salaries;

•	Annual cash incentives which are based, to a large extent, on annual performance of the Company and the operations the individual manages;

•	Discretionary cash bonus awards in those circumstances where we believe exceptional performance is not adequately rewarded under our annual cash incentive compensation program;

•	Long-term equity incentives in the form of stock options or restricted Common Stock awards that fully vest three years after grant; and

•	Benefits, including health, life and disability insurance, a 401(K) plan and a supplemental deferred compensation plan.

•	Reward our executives for their contributions to the Company's success;

•	Create an ownership mentality in our executives;

•	Focus our executives on building long-term value;

•	Permit us to recruit the talent we need;

•	Pay our executives at comparable levels with organizations with which the Company competes for talent; and

•	Encourage our top performers to remain with the Company.

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•	A.H. Belo Corporation;

•	Gannett Co., Inc.;

•	The McClatchy Company;

•	Meredith Corp.;

•	New Media Investment Group Inc.;

•	The New York Times Company;

•	Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc.; and

•	tronc, Inc.

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•	In 2011, 2014 and 2017, the shareholders recommended, on an advisory basis, the approval of the compensation philosophy, policies and procedures employed by the ECC, substantially as described herein (the "say-on-pay" vote).

•	In 2011, 2014 and 2017, 93.6%, 95.8% and 95.4% of the votes cast were voted in favor of the say-on-pay proposal, respectively.

•	Shareholder engagement and feedback findings do not indicate any concerns with the Company’s executive compensation program.

•	Shareholders who have concerns about executive compensation during the interval between “say-on-pay” votes are welcome to bring their specific concerns to the attention of the Board and the ECC.

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•	Health insurance, including prescription drug coverage;

•	Dental insurance;

•	Vision insurance;

•	Life insurance coverage in the event of the employee's death;

•	Accidental death and dismemberment insurance;

•	Short-term disability insurance;

•	Long-term disability insurance for a disability lasting longer than five months;

•	Retirement Account Plan; and

•	Non-Qualified Plan.

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•	Base salary is a fixed amount;

•	Annual cash incentives are limited and based on achievement of a plan approved by the Board;

•	Stock awards are limited in amount and vest over a three-year period; and

•	All awards are subject to our final approval.

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(1)	The NEOs include the principal executive officer, principal financial officer and the three other most highly compensated executive officers who were serving as executive officers at September 24, 2017.

(2)	Stock and option awards are granted at a price equal to the fair market value on the date of grant. Information with respect to stock awards granted to the NEOs is reflected in “Outstanding Equity Awards at September 24, 2017” below.

(3)	Includes discretionary amounts paid under the annual cash incentive plan.

(4)	Includes matching contributions made to the Company's Retirement Account Plan and Non-Qualified Plan during the year. To the extent qualifying compensation was not received during the year, such as certain non-equity incentive plan compensation, the related matching contribution may be reported in a subsequent year.

(5)	The Lee Foundation, an affiliate of the Company, matches on a dollar-for-dollar basis up to $5,000 annually, charitable contributions made by NEOs to qualifying organizations. Such matching contributions are not considered compensation of the NEO.

(6)	Mr. Mayo joined the Company in May 2015 and in June 2015 was appointed the Company's principal financial officer.

(7)	Mr. Humenik and Mr. Bekke were not NEOs in 2016 or 2015.

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(1)	Options, which have a term of ten years, vest over a three year period. In the first year, 30% is vested. In the second year, an additional 30% is vested. In the third year, the remaining 40% is vested. Reload options, if any, vest one year from the date of the grant and have a term equal to the remaining term of the options exercised.

(2)	Based on closing market price of $2.10 on September 22, 2017.

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(1)	Amounts included in total compensation in the Summary Compensation Table under “Salary”.

(2)	Amounts included in total compensation in the Summary Compensation Table under “All Other Compensation”.

(3)	Earnings are based on the performance of investments selected by the NEO.

(4)	Amounts include compensation to the NEO in the form of Company contributions prior to 2015.

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•	The agreements become effective and the protective features vest upon a change of control or if an executive's employment is terminated as a consequence of such event.

•	The agreements provide that each executive is to remain an employee for a two-year period following a change of control of the Company unless the executive resigns for good reason or is terminated for cause, each as defined in the agreement.

•	An annual base salary, payable monthly in an amount at least equal to their highest monthly base salary during the year prior to the change of control;

•	An annual bonus, payable in a lump sum within 75 days following each fiscal year in an amount at least equal to their highest annual bonus in the three years prior to the change of control;

•	Continued participation in the Company's incentive, savings, retirement and welfare benefit plans; and

•	Payment of expenses and fringe benefits (including office and support staff, tax and financial planning services, applicable club dues and use of an automobile and related expenses) to the extent paid or provided to such executive immediately prior to the change of control or to other peer executives of the Company.

•	All accrued and unpaid annual base salary and annual bonus for the prior fiscal year payable in a lump sum within 30 days of termination;

•	A lump sum severance payment equal to the amount corresponding to the executive's title set fourth in the following table:

•	Executive Chairman and CEO     3x annual base salary and highest recent annual bonus

•	Vice Presidents             1x annual base salary and highest recent annual bonus

•	A payment equal to the payment multiple above of the Company's average annual contributions on behalf of the executive under all defined contribution plans maintained by the Company during the three-year period immediately preceding the termination;

•	Any legal fees and expenses incurred by the executive in asserting legal rights in connection with the agreement; and

•	Continued welfare benefits for the period equal to the multiple of their base salary payable plus certain outplacement services.

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•	Disclosing the confidential information of the Company and its affiliates;

•	Competing against the Company and its affiliates;

•	Soliciting the customers of the Company and its affiliates; and

•	Soliciting the employees of the Company and its affiliates for employment and hiring them, unless the employee is responding to employment advertising of a general nature or unless approved by the President of the Company in advance.

•	Awards of restricted Common Stock;

•	Stock options and stock grants; or

•	Amounts payable instead of such issuance in a lump-sum payment within 30 days of surrender of such stock options to the Company.

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