Hundreds of Gannett journalists walk out

Hundreds of journalists for the country’s largest newspaper chain walked off the job Monday, accusing the company’s chief executive of decimating its local newsrooms — and demanding a change at the top.

The walkout was the biggest labor action in Gannett’s history, said the union representing the journalists. It included workers from about two dozen newsrooms, including The Palm Beach Post, The Arizona Republic and The Austin American-Statesman. The demonstrations are expected to continue Tuesday for some newsrooms.

The action was timed to coincide with Gannett’s annual shareholder meeting Monday. The NewsGuild, which represents more than 1,000 journalists from Gannett, sent a letter to Gannett shareholders in May urging a vote of no-confidence against Mike Reed, the chief executive and chairman.

In the letter, the NewsGuild criticized the company’s merger with GateHouse Media in 2019, saying it “mortgaged the future of our company” by loading it up with debt.

The letter also criticized Reed, who was previously the CEO of GateHouse Media and took over Gannett after the merger, saying his compensation — $7.7 million in 2021 and $3.4 million in 2022 — was far too high for a company shedding jobs and paying “depressed wages” to remaining journalists.

Lark-Marie Anton, a Gannett spokesperson, said in a statement that while the company disagreed with the recommendation to oust Reed, “Gannett remains committed to our shareholder engagement process and takes all feedback seriously.”

The merged company owns USA Today and more than 200 daily newspapers in 43 states, though it has closed dozens of publications since the 2019 deal.