Turmoil at AZ’s troubled newspaper as Gannett “journalists” join nat’l walkout

AZ Republic employees unite with two dozen local newspapers across the U.S.

A stunningly candid Associated Press report is headlined, “Hundreds of journalists strike to demand leadership change at biggest US newspaper chain.“ It includes these words: “The walkouts coincided with Gannett’s annual shareholder meeting, during which the company’s board was duly elected despite 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 leadership. Reed has overseen the company since its 2019 merger with GateHouse Media, a tumultuous period that has included layoffs and the shuttering of newsrooms. Gannett shares have dropped more than 60% since the deal closed.”

Also included is this statement from Susan DeCarava, president of The NewsGuild of New York, who called the shareholder meeting “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 its 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 employee furloughs and suspension of 401-K contributions.

Gannett’s workforce has shrunken 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%.

The Trump-bashing Arizona Republic, for example, has gone from 140 newsroom employees in 2018 to 89 this year. The Austin American-Statesman’s newsroom fell during that period from 110 employees in 2018 to 41 this year.

Few Arizonans will see the report since it’s doubtful the failing rag passing as a newspaper will print it. Even if it was bold enough to do so, subscriptions have continued to drop, surpassing this dire 2019 Arizona Business Journal report headlined, “Analysis: Arizona Republic’s circulation decline among steepest for Gannett papers.”