Gannett
Gannett Co., Inc. (/ɡəˈnɛt/) is an American mass media holding company headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.[3][4] It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation.[5]
This article is about the demerged Gannett Co., Inc. For the company holding broadcasting and digital assets known as Gannett until 2015, see Tegna Inc. For other uses, see Gannett (disambiguation).Company type
Publishing
Rochester, New York October 6, 1906
Tegna Inc. (Broadcasting)
Tysons, Virginia, U.S.
- Mike Reed
- (Chairman and CEO)
Publishing/Digital Marketing Solutions
–US$ 146 million (2019)[2]
–US$ 119 million (2019)[2]
US$ 4.02 billion (2019)[2]
US$ 981 million (2019)[2]
11,200[1] (2022)
New Media Investment Group
It owns the national newspaper USA Today, as well as several local newspapers, including the Austin American-Statesman; Detroit Free Press; The Indianapolis Star; The Cincinnati Enquirer; The Columbus Dispatch; The Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville, Florida; The Tennessean in Nashville, Tennessee; The Daily News Journal, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee; The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky; the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, New York; The Des Moines Register; the El Paso Times; The Arizona Republic in Phoenix, Arizona; The News-Press in Fort Myers, Florida; the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; the Argus Leader, and the Great Falls Tribune.
In 2015, Gannett split into two publicly traded companies, one focusing on newspapers and publishing and the other on broadcasting. The broadcasting company took the name Tegna, and owns about 68 TV stations. The newspaper company inherited the Gannett name. The split was structured so that Tegna is the legal successor of the old Gannett, while the new Gannett is a spin-off.[6]
In November 2019, New Media Investment Group acquired and merged its GateHouse Media subsidiary into Gannett, creating the largest newspaper publisher in the United States, which adopted the Gannett name. Mike Reed[7] was named CEO.[8][9]
History[edit]
1906–1983[edit]
Gannett Company, Inc., was formed in 1923 by Frank Gannett in Rochester, New York, as an outgrowth of the Elmira Gazette, a newspaper business he had begun in Elmira, New York, in 1906. Gannett, who was known as a conservative,[10] gained notability and fortune by purchasing small independent newspapers and developing them into a large chain, a 20th-century trend that helped the newspaper industry remain financially viable.[11]
In April 1957, Paul Miller succeeded Frank Gannett as president and CEO when the group held 19 newspapers over four states; Florida not among them. Miller became frustrated after repeated unsuccessful attempts to acquire a foothold in Florida, then targeted Brevard County. He spoke to Marie Holderman, the owner and publisher of the Cocoa Tribune, and shared his plan for a morning daily paper in Brevard County. Holderman was not interested. Over the next few years, several Gannett representatives attempted to negotiate a purchase, without success.[12]
In the late 1950s, Al Neuharth was assistant managing editor at the Miami Herald and became acquainted with Marie Holderman. In 1963, he was hired by Miller to manage the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, New York. Two years later, he asked Miller for an opportunity to persuade Holderman.
In their meeting, Neuharth complimented the Tribune, but told Holderman that she lacked the resources to win a competition. Holderman was invited to Rochester for a meeting to talk with Gannett executives. The Gannett corporate airplane flew four people from Florida to New York.
John Pound, managing editor joined Holderman and her two granddaughters on the trip in May 1965. Convinced of Gannett's determination and at age 81, Holderman decided to sell, and Pound told the executives they wanted $1.9 million in compensation. Neuharth's response: "We told them that was a fair price and we certainly paid her more than she expected to get."[12]
In 1966, Neuharth took charge of Gannett Florida. After a few months, the Hudson family in Titusville decided to sell the Star Advocate to Gannett for $1 million.[12]
Neuharth started Today in Cocoa, which eventually became Florida Today.[13] By June 1966, paid subscriptions were 33,000, far exceeding their goal of 20,000 by the end of the year. The paper became profitable in 1968 after just 33 months.[12]
Miller was succeeded by Al Neuharth in 1973.[12]
In 1978, Gannett acquired Combined Communications Corp.,[14] operator of 2 major daily newspapers, the Oakland Tribune and The Cincinnati Enquirer, seven television stations, 13 radio stations, as well as an outdoor advertising division, for $370 million.[15][16] The outdoor advertising became known as Gannett Outdoor, before being acquired by Outdoor Systems (previously a division of 3M), before the company was sold to Infinity Broadcasting, which later became part of Viacom, and was part of CBS Corporation, until 2014 when CBS Outdoor went independent and became Outfront Media.
The News Journal in Wilmington, Delaware was purchased from DuPont[17] and The Tennessean in Nashville[18] in 1979, when the chain had grown to 79 newspapers.[19] In 1982, the broadcasting unit partnered with Telepictures Corporation to start out its Newscope program.[20]
Gannett's oldest newspaper is the Berrow's Worcester Journal based in Worcester, England and founded in 1690. In the United States, the oldest newspapers still in circulation are the Poughkeepsie Journal, founded in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1785, and The Leaf-Chronicle founded in Clarksville, Tennessee in 1808.
1984–2013[edit]
In 1984, John Curley was appointed president and COO. In 1985, Curley became CEO and continued as president.[21]
The company was headquartered in Rochester until 1986, when it moved to Arlington County, Virginia. Its former headquarters building, the Gannett Building, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.[22]
Douglas H. McCorkindale succeeded Curley as CEO in 2000 and chairman in 2001.[23] That year, the company moved to its current headquarters in Tysons Corner, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C.
Beginning in 2005 at the Fort Myers News-Press, Gannett pioneered the mojo concept of mobile multimedia journalists, reporters who were initially untethered from conventional newsrooms and drove around their communities filing hyperlocal news in various formats including text for print publication, still photos for print and online publication, and audio and video for the News-Press website.[24] The practice has spread throughout the chain.[25]
In 2010, Gannett increased executive salaries and bonuses; for example, Bob Dickey, Gannett's U.S. newspapers division president, was paid $3.4 million in 2010, up from $1.9 million the previous year. The next year, the company laid off 700 U.S. employees to cut costs. In the memo announcing the layoffs, Dickey wrote, "While we have sought many ways to reduce costs, I regret to tell you that we will not be able to avoid layoffs."[26]
Directors and senior executives[edit]
Gannett has an eight-member board of directors[120] and 11 senior executives.
On October 6, 2011, Gannett's chairman, president and Chief executive officer Craig A. Dubow resigned, citing health reasons. He was succeeded by Gracia Martore, Gannett's Chief operating officer, a 26-year company veteran.[121]
From 2005 until 2008 Sue Clark-Johnson was president of Gannett's Newspaper Division.[122]
In May 2019, Barbara Wall was appointed as interim chief executive officer after Bob Dickey retired.[123]
Mike Reed became Gannett's Chief Executive Officer in June 2020. His immediate predecessor,
Paul Bascobert, served in the role for about ten months, starting in August 2019.[61][124]
Headquarters[edit]
In 2001, the company completed construction of its corporate headquarters at the Valo Park business park in Tysons, Virginia.[125] The 1.5 million-square-foot facility sat on a 30-acre site and included a mile-long jogging path, softball fields, tennis courts, a fitness center, athletic facilities and a helipad.[126]
In February 2024, Gannett moved out of its headquarters and planned to relocate to a 24,000-square-foot leased office space in New York City starting March 31.[125]
