Gannett profit and revenue led by TV stations

(Reuters) - Newspaper and broadcast company Gannett Co reported higher revenue and earnings on Tuesday, benefiting from its acquisition of Belo's TV stations. The company said total second-quarter revenue increased 12.1 percent to $1.46 billion from a year earlier. Analysts on average were expecting $1.48 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Earnings excluding special items, such as employee severance, rose 14.4 percent to $154.6 million, or 67 cents per share. Gannett, which is the largest newspaper chain in the United States and publishes USA Today, has been snapping up broadcast TV stations to bolster its portfolio against declining advertising revenue and readership at its newspapers. Broadcasting revenue, which accounts for more than a quarter of Gannett's total, rose 13.4 percent to $398.3 million. Publishing revenue fell 4.1 percent to $867.4 million on an almost 6 percent decline in advertising revenue and 0.6 percent slip in circulation revenue to $530.2 million and $277.9 million, respectively. (Reporting by Jennifer Saba in New York; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and W Simon)