Michael Hiltzik: How the decline of local news exposes the public to lies and corruption
Gannett Co., the largest newspaper chain in the country, had some encouraging news for its news staff and readers in July.
That's when one of its top executives declared that the company remained "unrelenting in our commitment to the communities we serve and will continue to deliver bold and uniquely innovative reporting ... for our loyal readers."
Fast-forward just a few weeks later, and the word wasn't so uplifting.
On Aug. 4, the company delivered a bleak earnings report for its second quarter, which ended June 30: a loss of $53.7 million on revenue of $748.7 million. That came on top of losses totaling nearly $1 billion over the prior three calendar years, on revenues of nearly $7 billion.
Gannett's commitment to delivering "bold and uniquely innovative reporting" seemed shaken. Maribel Perez Wadsworth, the head of Gannett media, who had made that earlier commitment, was now warning that layoffs were looming.
"In the coming days," she said, "we will … be making necessary but painful reductions to staffing, eliminating some open positions and roles that will impact valued colleagues."
She was as good as her word. At least 70 layoffs have occurred in Gannett newsrooms since mid-August, according to a reckoning by the Poynter Institute; the NewsGuild, which represents workers at many of those locations, counts at least 80. Gannett hasn't confirmed any numbers.
The layoffs are a blow not only to the men and women who have lost their jobs but also to the readers who relied
