Gannett Might End Up Selling More Daily Newspapers

One of America's major newspaper companies, Gannett, could sell additional newspapers as it confronts significant financial challenges, according to a report from Axios.

The company's CEO, Mike Reed, said on a call with reporters last month that they would “entertain bids” on any of their markets or products that are at or above fair market value. "Those things can be lumpy. It depends on vanity-type buyers in those particular markets," he added.

Gannett's portfolio includes 217 daily newspapers nationwide, with the top 100 papers generating approximately 90 percent of its overall revenues. However, some of its newspapers have ceased hiring reporters and are dependent on stories sourced from other newspapers. For instance, the Burlington County Times, previously a significant local paper, does not have any local reporters listed on its masthead, only an executive editor. The Daily Journal based in Vineland, and the New Jersey Herald located in Sussex County, currently have no one listed in the newsroom directory, and the latter has only three reporters.

Gannett's latest announcement coincides with its strategy of divesting assets and concentrating on fewer but more profitable markets after merging with GateHouse in 2019. The company has trimmed down nearly half of its workforce since then. During an earnings call last month, Reed stated that they aim to narrow down their presence to somewhere between their current 217 daily newspaper markets and their top 100 best-performing markets, which he added will be their primary focus.

While Gannett's top 100 daily newspaper markets are responsible for roughly 90 percent of the company's newspaper business revenues, some of the markets outside of this range are still performing well, and their revenues are not declining. Gannett has made an effort to sell its newspapers instead of shutting them down, and it has often sold them to local or family-owned chains. However, some of these newspapers are still struggling despite Gannett's efforts.

Despite the cuts, Gannett remains committed to its local markets, with Lark-Marie Antón, the company's chief communications officer, stating that they plan to invest in better serving their readers with “content initiatives” that “expand” their audience and “drive growth to ensure the sustainability of local news.”

Reed has emphasized that Gannett's main priority is to cater to its subscribers, rather than expanding its scale. He also stated that the job cuts that occurred after the merger were a result of the company's efforts to achieve synergies.

Overall, the future of Gannett's newspapers remains uncertain, as the company continues to face financial difficulties and may sell more of its papers in the coming months.