An interesting trend in the newspaper business is occurring. The papers facing shrinking advertising revenue and readership are starting to sell their real estate holdings. In major cities, many of the newspapers had grand buildings that were a testament to their power and prestige often rivaling city hall.

Now as the newsworld is shifting online and newspapers are fighting for their survival as the high cost of printing information and general apathy by the public in getting news on paper is forcing the newspapers to reduce costs. Here are some examples.

• The Philadelphia Inquirer putting it’s landmark 18 story  Beaux-Arts building on the market for 70 million dollars.
• The Boston Herald selling 6 prime acres in the trendy south end part of town.
• The Minneapolis Star Tribune selling 4 downtown blocks to the Minnesota Vikings for their new stadium.
• Rumors that Sam Zell will sell the Tribune Tower in Chicago when the sale of the Tribune Co. goes through.

With profits and revenue falling, newspaper companies are increasingly looking to real estate to shore up their finances. Though newspapers are still largely profitable, they are seen by many on Wall Street as a dying medium. In some cases, the Inquirer and the Boston Herald among them, financial pressures are forcing newspapers to sell their property as a quick way to come up with cash. In others, especially papers acquired by private-equity firms, the new owners are simply trying to squeeze as much money out of the operation as possible, says newspaper analyst John Morton, president of Morton Research Inc. via  WSJ.com.

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