Mike Reed Sets Goals for New Gannett

This is from one of the ex-Gannetteer Facebook groups, and is 100 percent spot-on:

When I was executive editor of Gannett News Service (okay, that was in the late 1980s), I was hired by John Quinn largely because I had 25 years experience at UPI, managing and “leveraging” (that’s for you, Nancy Woodhull!) coverage from correspondents around the world. The idea was that, in addition to distributing news gathered and written by the GNS staff, we would take the work of reporters from USAT and the other Gannett papers, make it wire-ready in our Washington bureau, and re-distribute it to everyone. I tried valiantly, but largely unsuccessfully, to change the Gannett culture.
There were areas that worked: Special projects that weren’t on deadline; features, graphics and photos that we could turn around more easily than we could with breaking news that came to us with a narrow local perspective and had to be broadened — under the gun — for national consumption.
There were a number of USAT reporters who routinely and happily expanded six-graf stories into 400-word stories with greater context and nuance. And there were rare instances when we relied on local coverage almost entirely. Prime example: Westchester and USAT, on 9/11.
But the vast bulk of what worked was produced by the GNS national and regional staffs in Washington; and various state bureaus … Indianapolis, Springfield, Ill.; Columbus, Sacramento, Baton Rouge, Trenton, Harrisburg, Tallahassee, etc.
I wish Gannett well in trying to assemble a USAT-based wire service network. But I am skeptical, given massive staff cuts at many papers, and the editing desk changes that leave local stories to be handled by a copy desk hundreds of miles away and unfamiliar with the originating communities.
We never quite pulled it off 30 years ago, with far greater financial, personnel and talent resources, and with total management commitment. Hard to see how it can be successful with the news business in free-fall, and with a management far less interested in quality journalism than on cutting resources to maximize profits.

 

Another printing plant to close and property to be sold off. This facility also prints the Inky. https://patch.com/new-jersey/cherry...taff-laid-off-from-cherry-hill-printing-plant

 

Print circulations have declined so precipitously that printing plants can handle a lot more papers. For example, According to the Gannett 10-K the Detroit and Phoenix have Sunday circulations of just over 70,000. I would bet back in the day Sunday circulation for those papers were close to 500,000 each. I would think Philadelphia circulation would be higher but I would be surprised if it now more than 100,000. Gannett has already given up on late deadlines so they can continue pushing production into a single facility.

In glancing at the 10-K at year end Gannett had two print facilities in Florida. I would expect one to close. There are facilities in Alabama and Mississippi. I think one closes. The company has one in Rhode Island and one in Massachusetts so that I would expect to close. The company also has one each in six contiguous midwestern states so I would think a couple of those will be closed.

 

The Boston Globe's daily print circulation is somewhere north of 50,000. That's insane. I bet the Inquirer/Daily News combined circulation is probably hovering around 60k.

 

Boston Globe at 56,900 "in the six months running to September 2023," according to this, Leading print newspapers U.S. by circulation 2023 | Statista

Philadelphia Inquirer at 45,300. I don't know what "Daily News" is the one listed after the Philadelphia Inquirer.

 

So this is why I opened my e-edition to find a bunch of wire content from something called "Field Level Media." Also some Reuters/Gannett affiliates sprinkled in with my content.

The Sports Extra that had the box scores/agate was the primary reason I kept subscribing to my local paper for $20/month. As much as I want to support it and my friends who work there, not sure I can justify that cost anymore.

 

Gannett dumping AP for AI?

 

Field Level Media is an outfit that pays folks $15 or $20 to write game recaps off the TV.

First-class content.

 

https://thebusinessjournal.com/blog-visalias-daily-paper-ceases-local-printing/

 

Mike Reed crying about the NewsGuild.

https://www.axios.com/2024/03/26/gannett-newsguild-unions-associated-press

 

People complaining, online, about the decline of print.

LOL