Tara Connell, a Gannett spokeswoman in Arlington, Va., said employees who want to have their domestic partners covered by benefits must submit an affidavit stating they'd been in a committed relationship for at least 12 months. They would also need to submit other proof of their relationship, such as a joint checking account or co-ownership of a house or car.

"They would need to show they rely on each other financially," Connell said.

She said Gannett, which owns the Tucson Citizen, didn't have an estimate of how much the added coverage would cost the company.

"To be honest, we don't know how many employees this will affect," she said. Connell said employees will be notified of the changes in September.

Sherry Boschert, board member of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, said when other publishing companies extended benefits to same- sex and opposite-sex partners, between 1 and 3 percent of employees signed up for them.

She said part of the reason the number is so low is because the government taxes the extra money an employer pays for benefits coverage, resulting in higher taxes for the employee.

"It's really only the people who need it and for whom it makes sense financially who do it," Boschert said. "Until the IRS and the federal government change their point of view, there's nothing you can do about (the extra taxes)."

Arizona workers whose benefits extend to their domestic partners can expect to pay both federal and state income taxes on the extra amount their employer contributes. This is because the state does not recognize either common-law or same-sex marriages, said Ellen Campbell, who is an enrolled agent - someone allowed to represent taxpayers before the IRS - in Phoenix.

"It's always better, though, to pay tax on the money than not to get the money at all," Campbell said.

According to a 1997 KPMG Peat Marwick survey, 13 percent of U.S. employers extend health benefits to domestic partners.

Boschert said Gannett's decision has been part of a years-long effort by employees to get coverage extended to domestic partners.

"I think one of the things that convinced Gannett is, they did hear from so many employees from all over the country," she said.

Aside from the Tucson Citizen, Gannett owns 97 other newspapers, including The Arizona Republic and USA TODAY, as well as 22 television stations.