Hundreds of journalists strike to demand leadership change at biggest U.S. newspaper chain
NEW YORK –
Journalists at two dozen native newspapers throughout the U.S. walked off the job Monday to demand an finish to painful cost-cutting measures and a change of management at Gannett, the nation’s largest newspaper chain.
The strike entails tons of of journalists at newspapers in no less than seven states, together with the Arizona Republic, the Austin American-Statesman, the Bergen Record, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, and the Palm Beach Post, based on the NewsGuild, which represents staff at greater than 50 Gannett newsrooms. Gannett has stated there could be no disruption to its news protection through the strike, which can final for 2 days at two of the newspapers and at some point for the remaining.
The walkouts coincided with Gannett’s annual shareholder assembly, throughout which the corporate’s board was duly elected regardless of the NewsGuild-CWA union urging shareholders to withhold their votes from CEO and board chairman Mike Reed as an expression of no confidence in his management. Reed has overseen the corporate since its 2019 merger with GateHouse Media, a tumultuous interval that has included layoffs and the shuttering of newsrooms. Gannett shares have dropped greater than 60% for the reason that deal closed.
Susan DeCarava, president of the The NewsGuild of New York, known as the shareholder assembly “a slap in the face to the hundreds of Gannett journalists who are on strike today.”
“Gannett CEO Mike Reed didn’t have a word to say to the scores of journalists whose livelihoods he’s destroyed, nor to the communities who have lost their primary news source thanks to his mismanagement,” DeCarava stated in a press release.
In authorized submitting, the NewsGuild stated Gannett’s management has gutted newsrooms and in the reduction of on protection to service a large debt load. Cost-cutting has additionally included compelled furloughs and suspension of 401-Okay contributions.
“We want people our local community to know what this company is doing to local news, and we want Gannett shareholders to know what Gannett is doing to local news,” stated Chris Damien, a legal justice reporter and unit guild chair the Desert Sun, which covers Palm Springs and the encircling Coachella Valley in Southern California.
Gannett chief communications officer Lark-Marie Anton stated the corporate disagreed with the union’s advice to vote in opposition to Reed.
“During a very challenging time for our industry and economy, Gannett strives to provide competitive wages, benefits and meaningful opportunities for all our valued employees,” Anton stated in a press release.
Some of the hanging newsrooms are negotiating contracts and accuse the corporate of dragging its ft and negotiating in dangerous religion, however Anton stated the corporate continues to barter pretty.
Among the contract calls for are a base annual wage of US$60,000. The median pay for Gannett worker in 2022 was US$51,035, based on the corporate’s proxy submitting. Reed’s whole annual compensation was valued at almost US$3.4 million, down from $7.7 million in 2021.
Gannett, which owns USA Today and greater than 200 different each day U.S. newspapers with print editions, introduced final August that it might lay off newsroom employees to decrease prices because it struggles with declining income amid a downturn in advert gross sales and buyer subscriptions.
The newspaper business has struggled for years with such challenges, as promoting shifts from print to digital, and readers abandon native newspapers for on-line sources of knowledge and leisure. Major newspapers equivalent to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post have gained substantial digital audiences for protection of broad subjects, however regional and native papers have struggled to duplicate that success in narrower markets.
In its first quarter earnings report this 12 months, Gannett stated its digital subscriptions had grown 15% year-over-year, and income from digital circulation grew 20%. The firm reported a US$10.3 million revenue versus a $3 million loss in the identical interval final 12 months, though income fell by 10.6%. The firm additionally reported repaying US$37 million in debt.
According to the NewsGuild, Gannett’s workforce has shrunk 47% within the final three years on account of layoffs and attrition. At some newspapers, the union stated the headcount has fallen by as a lot as 90%.
The Arizona Republic, for instance, has gone from 140 newsroom workers in 2018 to 89 this 12 months, the NewsGuild stated. The Austin American-Statesman’s newsroom shrunk throughout that interval from 110 workers in 2018 to 41 this 12 months.
Some newspapers have forsaken protection of native sports activities or business, the union stated. Reporters have needed to tackle a number of unrelated beats. Some publications have dropped native news protection altogether to give attention to regional news.
