Hundreds of journalists strike to demand leadership change at biggest US newspaper chain

Journalists from a diverse range of local newspapers across the United States embarked on a strike on Monday, demanding an end to cost-cutting measures and a change in leadership at Gannett, the country’s largest newspaper chain.

The strike encompasses hundreds of journalists from newspapers in eight states, including notable publications such as the Arizona Republic, the Austin American-Statesman, the Bergen Record, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, and the Palm Beach Post. The NewsGuild, which represents workers at over 50 Gannett newsrooms, confirmed the participation of these journalists. Gannett has assured that the strike will not disrupt its news coverage, with two of the newspapers striking for two days and the rest for one day.

Coinciding with Gannett’s annual shareholder meeting, the company’s board was reelected despite the NewsGuild-CWA union urging shareholders to withhold votes from CEO and board chairman Mike Reed as a vote of no confidence in his leadership. Reed has overseen the company since its merger with GateHouse Media in 2019, a period marked by layoffs and the closure of newsrooms. Gannett’s shares have plummeted by more than 60% since the completion of the merger.

Susan DeCarava, president of the NewsGuild of New York, described the shareholder meeting as “a disrespectful act toward the hundreds of Gannett journalists currently on strike.”

DeCarava stated, “Gannett CEO Mike Reed did not utter a single word to the numerous journalists whose careers he has devastated, nor did he address the communities that have lost their primary news source due to his mismanagement.”

In a legal filing, the NewsGuild claimed that Gannett’s leadership has significantly reduced newsroom resources and coverage in order to manage an enormous debt burden. Cost-cutting measures have included mandatory furloughs and the suspension of 401(k) contributions.

Chris Damien, a criminal justice reporter and unit guild chair at the Desert Sun, a publication covering Palm Springs and the surrounding Coachella Valley in Southern California, emphasized the need to expose Gannett’s actions to local communities and shareholders. Damien stated, “We want the local community to understand the detrimental impact this company is having on local news, and we want Gannett shareholders to be aware of the damage being inflicted on local news.”

Lark-Marie Anton, Chief Communications Officer at Gannett, expressed disagreement with the union’s recommendation to vote against Reed, stating, “During these challenging times for our industry and economy, Gannett strives to provide competitive wages, benefits, and meaningful opportunities for all our valued employees.”

The strike at Gannett coincides with an ongoing strike by 250 unionized employees at Insider Inc., a global company that publishes Business Insider. The Insider Union, represented by the NewsGuild of New York, initiated the strike after failing to reach an initial contract agreement with the company.

Several of Gannett’s striking newsrooms are currently negotiating contracts and accuse the company of stalling progress. However, Anton claimed that the company continues to negotiate fairly.

Among the contract demands are a minimum annual salary of $60,000. According to the company’s proxy filing, the median pay for Gannett employees in 2022 was $51,035. Reed’s total annual compensation decreased from $7.7 million in 2021 to nearly $3.4 million.

During the shareholder meeting, NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss proposed reducing Gannett’s median CEO-to-employee ratio from 66:1 to 20:1. However, Schleuss described the meeting, which lasted only eight minutes and lacked any response from Reed, as a “complete joke” in a series of tweets.

Gannett, the owner of USA Today and over 200 other daily U.S. newspapers, announced layoffs in August last year to reduce costs as it grapples with declining revenue resulting from a decrease in ad sales and customer subscriptions.

The newspaper industry has long struggled with these challenges, as advertising shifts from print to digital and readers increasingly turn to online sources for information and entertainment. Major newspapers such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post have successfully attracted substantial digital audiences for their broad coverage. However, regional and local papers have faced difficulties replicating this success in narrower markets.

In its first-quarter earnings report this year, Gannett announced a 15% year-over-year growth in digital subscriptions and a 20% increase in revenue from digital circulation. The company reported a profit of $10.3 million compared to a $3 million loss during the same period the previous year, although revenue declined by 10.6%. Additionally, the company reported repaying $37 million in debt.

According to the NewsGuild, Gannett’s workforce has decreased by 47% over the past three years due to layoffs and attrition. At some newspapers, the union claimed that headcount reductions have reached as high as 90%.

For instance, the Arizona Republic witnessed a decline from 140 newsroom employees in 2018 to 89 this year, as reported by the NewsGuild. Similarly, the Austin American-Statesman’s newsroom diminished from 110 employees in 2018 to 41 this year.

The union also highlighted that some newspapers have discontinued coverage of local sports or business, and reporters have been assigned unrelated beats. In some cases, publications have completely halted local news coverage to prioritize regional news.

Rick Edmonds, a media business analyst for the Poynter Institute, acknowledged that while the union may not have the power to prevent layoffs, the strike demonstrates its growing momentum.

Schleuss revealed that 18 Gannett newsrooms have unionized in the past five years. Two additional newsrooms, the Athens Banner-Herald and the Savannah Morning News in Georgia, voted to unionize on Monday.

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• NewsGuild – The official website of the NewsGuild, the union representing workers at Gannett newsrooms.
• Gannett – The official website of Gannett, the largest newspaper chain in the United States.
• The Arizona Republic – The official website of The Arizona Republic, one of the newspapers affected by the strike.
• The Austin American-Statesman – The official website of The Austin American-Statesman, another newspaper involved in the strike.
• The Bergen Record – The official website of The Bergen Record, a newspaper participating in the strike.
• The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle – The official website of The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, another newspaper impacted by the strike.
• The Palm Beach Post – The official website of The Palm Beach Post, a newspaper involved in the strike.