Financially troubled U.S. newspaper group McClatchy Co. is mulling the sale of its prominent publication The Miami Herald, the Jacksonville Business Journal reported Tuesday.

The California-based firm, which publishes the Kansas City Star and 28 other titles, purchased the Herald as part of its US$4.5 acquisition of Knight Ridder Newspapers Inc. nearly two years ago.

In September, the Herald announced that it was looking to lease 50,000 square feet of its 750,000 square-feet head office. The company is now renting out the space for $32 per square foot, which amounts to $1.6 million per year, according to the Jacksonville Business Journal.

"The Herald has a prime waterfront location in downtown Miami but with the downturn in the real estate market, it's unclear if that would generate interest among buyers," the Jacksonville Business Journal stated.

In October, McClatchy's revenue plunged by 17.8 percent, from $214 million to $176 million, since the same period last year. The firm is experiencing the same advertising revenue and circulation declines the rest of the U.S. newspaper industry is facing.

McClatchy sold the San Jose Mercury News as well as the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2008, and the Star Tribune of Minneapolis last year, according to the Jacksonville Business Journal.