“In legal filing, the NewsGuild said Gannett’s leadership has gutted newsrooms and cut back on coverage to service a massive debt load. Cost-cutting has also included forced furloughs and suspension of 401-K contributions.”
“Among the contract demands are a base annual salary of $60,000. The median pay for Gannett employee in 2022 was $51,035, according to the company’s proxy filing.”
“Gannett, which owns USA Today and more than 200 other daily U.S. newspapers with print editions, announced last August that it would lay off newsroom staff to lower costs as it struggles with declining revenue amid a downturn in ad sales and customer subscriptions.”
“According to the NewsGuild, Gannett’s workforce has shrunk 47% in the last three years due to layoffs and attrition. At some newspapers, the union said the headcount has fallen by as much as 90%.”
sorely needed, Gannett might genuinely be the most destructive thing that has ever happened to journalism–and i’m including Rupert Murdoch and the 24-hour news channel in that. entire communities have literally become paperless because they just don’t give a fuck about anything but money.
I hate all these companies that have consolidated local media under one massive umbrella. Sinclair Broadcast Group and iHeartMedia also spring to mind.
Gannett pretty much killed the newspaper business in my area. The local paper of a 100k person city only has 3 writers.
Gannett doesn’t own the Denver Post, but Alden Global Capital does basically the same shit and the masthead over there has just been miserable in the past few years; luckily we’ve gotten non-profit newsroom the Colorado Sun out of it–i am tragically lapsed on membership due to my lack of finances–but i can’t help but feel for all the places where nothing like that is possible.