PORTLAND – The Seattle Times Co. is exploring the sale of the Maine newspaper group it purchased a decade ago, the company announced Monday.

Citing challenges within the industry, CEO and Publisher Frank Blethen said the family-owned company needs to focus on the future of its newspapers in Washington state. The Maine newspapers include the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, the Kennebec Journal in Augusta, the Morning Sentinel in Waterville and MaineToday.com.

“The decision to explore a sale was painful. But a sale may be the best opportunity for the long-term survival of our newspapers in Washington and those in Maine,” Blethen said in a statement posted on the Press Herald online site.

Blethen and Chuck Cochrane, CEO and publisher of Blethen Maine Newspapers, informed Press Herald employees during a 20-minute afternoon meeting. Workers were told that counseling would be made available to those needing it.

“We have been proud to be the stewards of these newspapers for the last 10 years. They provide their community with high-quality, independent journalism that is in keeping with the best traditions of the Seattle Times Company,” Blethen said. “We wish our stewardship could continue indefinitely, but the difficult business environment and continuing uncertainties require we consider other options.”

Tom Bell, vice president of Local 128 of the Newspaper Guild, characterized the meeting as somber.

“Workers here are stunned by the news. We can understand why the Blethen family is selling its Maine properties, but the news was still unexpected. A lot of employees are apprehensive right now,” he said.

Bob Steele, a journalism values scholar at The Poynter Institute, said the Blethens greatly valued the purchase of the Maine newspapers in light of the family’s historic roots in the state.

In addition to pressures confronting other independent newspaper owners, the family had been embroiled in a dispute over its joint operating agreement with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and a strike at its flagship newspaper several years ago, Steele said.

“They’ve been hit hard financially and have had to take some strategic and tactical measures in recent years to keep the ships afloat,” he said. “Now, they’ve made the decision apparently to cut back on the number of ships they have in the water.”

Blethen Maine Newspapers have about 500 employees and combined circulation of about 101,000 daily and 136,900 Sunday.

Cochrane said he does not anticipate the decision will require changes in policies or operations of the newspapers while a sale is being explored, the Press Herald Web site said.

The Seattle Times’ purchase of the three newspapers from Guy Gannett Publishing Co. linked two companies that were launched by Mainers within years of each other in the late 19th century.

Guy Gannett, which is not affiliated with the larger Gannett Co., traced its origins to William Howard Gannett of Augusta and his Comfort magazine in 1888. Col. Alden Blethen, a former teacher and lawyer from Maine, bought the Seattle Press-Times eight years later.

The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram announced last week it was eliminating 27 jobs, resulting in 15 layoffs, because of the weakening national economy and a continuing downturn in advertising. Cochrane said advertising this year is “considerably below budget,” and the outlook for the remainder of 2008 is not much brighter.

The newspaper also said it was cutting the space devoted to news and photographs and scaling back on supplemental news services.

Newspapers nationwide have been cutting staff and trimming costs in response to a slowing economy and the loss of readers and advertising dollars.