DAVENPORT, Iowa (August 11, 2020) — Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE: LEE), a leading provider of news, information and advertising in 77 markets, announced today the company has launched a local business stimulus program aimed at helping local businesses adapt and thrive in a rapidly evolving economic environment.

“This stimulus program follows the highly successful grant program we launched in April of this year,” said Ray Farris, Lee operating vice president and vice president of advertising. “While providing nearly $5 million of much-needed marketing grants to local advertisers, we gained great insight into the challenges our customers are facing. We’ve shaped the business stimulus program to meet those challenges and help local business not only recover, but flourish, in today’s business climate.”

The program will be available to locally owned and operated businesses and will provide matching advertising credits for use in print and digital products, as well as the company’s broad suite of digital services such as website design, text marketing, managed email marketing and more.

“Our goal with the local business stimulus program is to assist our advertisers in being far better prepared to communicate with their customers regardless of external challenges,” said Lee Vice President of Local Advertising Joe Battistoni. “Our company has made significant investments in multiplatform communication technologies that allow our clients to have one–on-one conversations with their customers, which is essential in these business conditions.”

“We’ve heard from partners big and small how significant the grant program was at a time when they needed it the most,” Battistoni added. “Now it’s time to focus on the future and help them move forward.”

The company will make up to $5 million available to local businesses through monthly grants ranging from $250 to $15,000. The grants will be awarded in August, September and October of this year.

ABOUT LEE

Lee Enterprises is a leading provider of local news and information, and a major platform for advertising, with daily newspapers, rapidly growing digital products and nearly 350 weekly and specialty publications serving 77 markets in 26 states. Year to date, Lee's newspapers have average daily circulation of 1.2 million, and our legacy websites, including acquisitions, reach more than 43 million digital unique visitors. Lee's markets include St. Louis, MO; Buffalo, NY; Omaha, NE; Richmond, VA; Lincoln, NE; Madison, WI; Davenport, IA; and Tucson, AZ. Lee Common Stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LEE. For more information about Lee, please visit www.lee.net.

Contact:

Charles Arms

Charles.Arms@lee.net

(563) 383-2100