Davenport-based Lee Enterprises Inc., the publisher of the Quad-City Times, today announced that its first-quarter earnings tumbled 69 percent and said it would cut 10 percent of its work force in response, the Associated Press reported.

Lee’s net income slid to $6.8 million, or 15 cents per share, from $22.1 million, or 48 cents per share, in the same period a year ago. Total revenue for the newspaper publisher fell 13 percent to $243.6 million, and total advertising revenue decreased 15 percent to $184.6 million.

To help conserve production costs, Lee said its newspapers are moving to narrower pages to conserve newsprint and that it has discontinued less profitable specialty publications.

Other publishers, such as Gannett Co. Inc., the publisher of The Des Moines Register, are also taking measures to conserve costs. Gannett announced today that it will cease operations at its daily newspaper in Tucson, Ariz., if it is unable to find a buyer, the Phoenix Business Journal reported.

Gannett said it is taking bids on assets of the Tucson Citizen, a 17,000-circulation afternoon newspaper with about 70 workers, and if there is no sale by March 21, the newspaper will close. The Citizen is one of two newspapers produced by Gannett and Lee under a joint operating agreement.

Just last week, Gannett announced its plans to enforce a week without pay for its employees in order to avoid further layoffs.

However, The New York Times Co. announced yesterday that it was getting $250 million in financing from companies controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos “Slim” Helu, CNNMoney reported.

The money will be used to refinance existing debt, and Times Co. President and CEO Janet Robinson said it will allow the company “to continue to execute on our long-term strategy.”