It’s been a big day for Gannett Co. Inc. (GCI). In addition to revealing its fourth quarter and full year earnings report today, the USA TODAY publisher announced the promotion of executive vice president and CFO Gracia Martore to president and COO.

Martore couldn’t choose a better moment to come in. The company reported a $133.6 million profit for the fourth quarter of 2009, despite a 14.4 percent decline in revenues. The company attributed its profit to reduced expenses, and Gannett cut its debt by about $250 million during the quarter.

And although advertising revenues continue to lag behind previous years, Gannett said the fourth quarter was stronger than previous quarters of 2009 — a good sign. Ad revenues in the U.S. declined 18 percent during the quarter compared to 2008.

As CFO of Gannett, Martore is uniquely familiar with the economic challenges facing the company. She will remain CFO as she takes on her COO duties until a new CFO is brought on, CEO Craig Dubow said in an announcement today. Martore started at Gannett in 1985 as assistant treasurer and worked her way up as VP of Treasury Services, head of Investor Relations, senior VP and was named CFO in 2003.

Full release after the jump

Previously: New York Times Co., Gannett Get Holiday Love From Wall Street

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Gannett Co., the publisher of USA TODAY, announced its third quarter results this morning and, as promised, they beat analysts’ projections.

However, the company did post a 18.4 percent decrease in net operating revenues compared to the same period last year, and earnings per share were down 55.1 percent. Operating expenses also decreased, revealing a more efficient business. (Did all those layoffs over the summer help contribute to that?)

Gannet CEO Craig Dubow, who just came back to work last week after back surgery, emphasized the positives:

“We finished the quarter on a stronger note with better than anticipated results due primarily to better trends in advertising and great efficiencies across all of our business segments. Our results for the quarter exceeded the high end of previously announced estimated ranges for revenue, operating cash flow, and earnings per share…Third quarter year-over-year comparisons of publishing advertising revenue were a few percentage points better than year-over-year comparisons for the second quarter and September was our best comparison month of the year.”

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WebNewser: Meghan McCain fights back against comments about her breasts in a Twitter pic with a column on The Daily Beast.

PRNewser: Interesting poll: Which Tactic Did You Employ the Last Time You Released Big News? 48 percent say “Posted on a wire and pitched the release.”

The New York Times: Craig Dubow has returned to lead Gannett, after taking a four-month break following back surgery.

Boston Globe: New York Times Co. CEO Janet Robinson visited Boston yesterday, thanking employees of The Boston Globe for helping to improve the financial status of the paper, making it possible for the company to maintain ownership of it.

All Things Digital: NBC Universal showed some improvement over previous quarters when owner General Electric reported its third quarter results earlier today. This should make Comcast investors happy.

TVNewser: Turner Broadcasting owned truTV is shutting down its “In Session” daytime programming. Up to 65 employees could be let go as a result.

TheDeal: A week after Gannett Co. CEO Craig Dubow took medical leave, questions are raised about whether the company can survive beyond June 2011.

Editor & Publisher: Leaders of the News Media Guild, which represents AP employees, have requested a meeting with editors to discuss a contentious social media policy distributed to staffers last week.

Plum TV: Jaquelynn Powers interviews former colleague, Page Six’s Paula Froelich, about her book, “Mercury in Retrograde”.

Time Out New York: If you read her blog you know that Julia Allison broke up with Time Out New York, where she was the dating columnist, a while back. But today, the pub has an exit interview with the media celebutante. And yes, she’s still single — and she blames her apartment. “It’s like walking into a giant tutu,” she said.