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Gannett Digital Media Network Partners with Footnote.com to Launch HistoryBeat.com Websites

MCLEAN, Va., Aug. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Gannett Digital Media Network, a division of Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) that ties together more than 100 digital communities with a combined reach of approximately 25 million people, today announced a partnership with Footnote.com, the premier history website for original content, to launch HistoryBeat.com, a website that combines social networking with archival photos and original newspaper coverage of historical events. The first sites under the HistoryBeat domain, moonlanding.historybeat.com and woodstock.historybeat.com, honor the 40(th) anniversary of two significant American events: the Apollo Moon Landing and the Woodstock Music Festival.

The HistoryBeat.com sites enable users to view a vast amount of first-hand local journalism from Gannett newspapers that originally covered the Apollo Moon Landing and the Woodstock Music Festival. The newly-available information includes hundreds of photos and materials that were previously unpublished or unseen for nearly 40 years. The HistoryBeat.com sites create social communities where users can interact and share content related to these historical events. Users can register and create personal profiles in order to add annotations and comments, and even upload their own photos and documents. Comments and chat features are available for registered users to share their stories and experiences of these events as well as through Facebook, Twitter and other social bookmarks. Footnote.com provides the platform to support these extensive archives to the general public, while Gannett provides the historical context and content.

"HistoryBeat.com not only makes this historical content available online, but allows people to see the impact of these events on American progress and culture by engaging via social networking tools and features," said Jennifer Carroll, vice president and senior editor at Gannett's Content One. "By providing unique opportunities for audiences to interact and form deeper relationships with the content online, we're encouraging viewers to go beyond the documented news and add their unique perspectives on these two nationally defining events."

HistoryBeat.com makes available relevant articles from Florida Today for the Moon Landing and the Poughkeepsie Journal for Woodstock, as well as additional material such as official releases, artwork, and videos. Users can also search for relevant documents and images, including over 1,800 previously unpublished photos of the Apollo Moon Landing taken by Florida Today.

"By partnering with Gannett Digital Media Network, we're thrilled to take these stories from the archives and share them with everyone who was affected by the Apollo Moon Landing and the Woodstock Music Festival," said Russ Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com. "This innovative way of presenting, sharing and interacting with news and first-person stories creates opportunities to expand our understanding of these important happenings."

About Footnote.com

Footnote.com is a history website where real history might just surprise you. Footnote.com features millions of searchable original documents, providing users with an unaltered view of the events, places and people that shaped the American nation and the world. At Footnote.com, all are invited to come share, discuss, and collaborate on their discoveries with friends, family, and colleagues. For more information, visit www.footnote.com.

About Gannett Digital Media Network

The Gannett Digital Media Network, a division of Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) www.gannett.com, ties together more than 100 digital communities with a combined reach of approximately 25 million people. The media properties include Gannett's best-of-breed news and information web and mobile sites, led by USATODAY.com (www.usatoday.com), and the local sites for Gannett's newspaper and broadcast properties, such as AZCentral.com, IndyStar.com and 9News.com. Additionally, a variety of growing media properties, such as MomsLikeMe.com (www.momslikeme.com), HighSchoolSports.net (www.highschoolsports.net), Metromix.com (www.metromix.com), and BNQT (www.bnqt.com).com are also part of the network.

    For media inquiries, contact:

    Julie Nicholson
    Weber Shandwick for Gannett Digital Media Network
    212-445-8371
    jnicholson@webershandwick.com

    Justin Schroepfer
    Marketing Director, Footnote.com
    801-494-6517
    justin@footnote.com

SOURCE Gannett Digital Media Network