Gannett Company

Gannett Company, Inc.
Public
Traded as NYSE: GCI
S&P 600 Component
Industry Print media
Successor Tegna (Broadcasting)
Founded 1906 (1906)
Founder Frank Gannett
Headquarters Tysons Corner, Virginia, U.S.
(McLean mailing address)
Key people
 John Jeffry Louis III
(Chairman)
Robert Dickey
(President and CEO)
Products Newspapers
Revenue Decrease US$ 3.05 billion (2016)[1]
Decrease US$ 79.088 million (2016)
Decrease US$ 52.710 million (2016)
Total assets Decrease US$ 2.844 billion (2016)
Total equity Decrease US$ 856.761 million (2016)
Number of employees
 24,200 (2016)[1]
Divisions Publishing
ReachLocal[2]
Subsidiaries Newsquest
Website gannett.com

Gannett Company, Inc. is a publicly traded American media holding company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, near McLean in Greater Washington DC.[3][4] It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation.

Its assets include the national newspaper USA Today and the erstwhile weekly USA Weekend. Its largest non-national newspaper is The Arizona Republic in Phoenix, Arizona. Other significant newspapers include The Indianapolis Star, The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Tennessean in Nashville, Tennessee, The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky, the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, New York, The Des Moines Register, the Detroit Free Press, The News-Press in Fort Myers, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and the Great Falls Tribune.

In 2015, Gannett Co. Inc. spun off its publishing business into a separate publicly traded entity, while retaining the internet media divisions. Immediately following the spin off, the former parent Company (Gannett Co. Inc.) renamed itself Tegna. The spun off publishing business renamed itself "Gannett".[5]

History

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,[6] gained fame 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.[7] By 1979, the chain had grown to 79 newspapers.[8]

In 1979, Gannett acquired Combined Communications Corp., operator of 2 major daily newspapers, the Oakland Tribune & The Cincinnati Enquirer, 7 television stations, 13 radio stations, as well as an outdoor advertising division, for $370 million.[9][10] 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 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.[11] Gannett's oldest newspaper still in circulation is the Leaf-Chronicle located in Clarksville, Tennessee. In 2001, the company moved to its current headquarters in Tysons Corner, 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 via Wi-Fi in various formats including text for print publication, still photos for print and online publication, and audio and video for the News-Press website.[12] The practice has spread throughout the chain.[13]

On March 7, 2011, Gannett replaced the stylized "G" logo in use since the 1970s (notably used on its TV stations as a corporate/local ID with different animations), and adopted a new company tagline: "It's all within reach."[14]

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."[15]

Gannett Logo used until March 2011.

In February 2012, Gannett announced that it would implement a paywall system across all of its daily newspaper websites, with non-subscriber access will be limited to between five and 15 articles per month, varying by newspaper. The USA Today website became the only one to allow unrestricted access.[16]

On March 24, 2012, the company announced that it would discipline 25 employees in Wisconsin who had signed the petition to recall Governor Scott Walker, stating that this open public participation in a political process was a violation of the company's code of journalistic ethics and that their primary responsibility as journalists was to maintain credibility and public trust in themselves and the organization.[17]

On August 21, 2012, Gannett acquired Blinq Media.[18]

Around the first week of October 2012, Gannett entered a dispute against Dish Network regarding compensation fees and Dish's AutoHop commercial-skip feature on its Hopper digital video recorders. Gannett ordered that Dish discontinue AutoHop on the account that it is affecting advertising revenues for Gannett's television station. Gannett threatened to pull all of its stations should the skirmish continue beyond October 7 and Dish and Gannett fail to reach an agreement.[19][20] The two parties eventually reached an agreement after extending the deadline for a few hours.[21]

Acquisition of Belo Corporation

On June 13, 2013, Gannett announced plans to buy Dallas-based Belo Corporation for $1.5 billion and the assumption of debt. The purchase would add 20 additional stations to Gannett's portfolio and make the company the fourth largest television broadcaster in the U.S. with 43 stations.[22][23] Because of ownership conflicts that exist in markets where both Belo and Gannett own television stations and newspapers, the use of a third-party company (Sander Media, LLC, owned by former Belo executive Jack Sander) as a licensee to buy stations to be operated by the owner of a same-market competitor and concerns about any possible future consolidation of operations of Gannett- and Belo-owned properties in markets where both own television stations or collusion involving the Gannett and Sander stations in retransmission consent negotiations, anti-media-consolidation groups (such as Free Press) and pay television providers (such as Time Warner Cable and DirecTV) have called for the FCC to block the acquisition.[24][25]

On December 16, 2013, the United States Department of Justice announced that Gannett, Belo, and Sander would need to divest Belo's station in St. Louis, KMOV, to a government-approved third-party that would be barred from entering into any agreements with Gannett, in order to fully preserve competition in advertising sales with Gannett-owned KSDK.[26] The deal was approved by the FCC on December 20,[27] and it was completed on December 23.[28] On February 28, 2014, Meredith Corporation officially took over full control of KMOV.[29]

Acquisition of London Broadcasting Company stations

On May 14, 2014, Gannett announced the acquisition of six stations from the Texas-based London Broadcasting Company in a $215 million deal, including KCEN-TV (NBC) in Waco-Temple-Bryan, KYTX (CBS) in Tyler-Longview, KIII (ABC) in Corpus Christi, KBMT (ABC/NBC) in Beaumont-Port Arthur, KXVA (FOX) in Abilene-Sweetwater and KIDY (FOX) in San Angelo. The company's COO Phil Hurley will also join Gannett to continue his leadership role at the six stations.[30] The acquisition was completed on July 8, 2014; in total, Gannett stations now serve 83% of households in the state.[31] Post acquisition, Gannett now outright owns and operates their first Fox affiliates, KIDY & KXVA.

Split and further deals

On August 5, 2014, Gannett announced that it plans to split into two independent publicly traded companies, one focusing on its newspapers and publishing, which will retain the Gannett name, and one on broadcasting. Robert Dickey—who currently leads Gannett's newspaper group—will serve as CEO of the former company, leaving Gannett's remaining broadcasting and digital operations under the leadership of Martore. In a statement, she explained that the split plans were "significant next steps in our ongoing initiatives to increase shareholder value by building scale, increasing cash flow, sharpening management focus, and strengthening all of our businesses to compete effectively in today's increasingly digital landscape." Additionally, the company announced that it would buy out the remainder of Classified Ventures—a joint venture between Gannett and several other media companies, for $1.8 billion, giving it full ownership of properties such as Cars.com.[32][33] On April 21, 2015, Gannett announced that the publishing arm would continue to use the Gannett name, while the broadcasting and digital company would be named Tegna—an anagram of Gannett.[34] The split was completed on June 29, 2015. The split was structured so that the old Gannett changed its name to Tegna, and then spun off its publishing interests as a "new" Gannett Company.

On October 7, 2015, Gannett struck a deal to buy the Journal Media Group for $280 million, giving it control of publications in over 100 markets in the Midwestern and Southern U.S. Similar to what Gannett had earlier done with its broadcasting assets, the Milwaukee-based Journal had separated its publishing and broadcasting arms in April 2015, with the E. W. Scripps Company acquiring the television and radio properties owned by the former's technical predecessor Journal Communications and spinning out their respective publishing operations into Journal Media Group.[35] In December 2015, Gannett announced that its local newspapers would be branded as the "USA Today Network", signifying a closer association with the national USA Today paper.[36]

In April 2016, Gannett made an unsolicited bid to acquire the Tribune Publishing Company for $12.25 per-share, or around $400 million. This deal was rejected by Tribune's shareholders in May 2016; in turn, Gannett increased its offer to around $15 per-share (around $800 million). Although the two companies held talks during the summer and into the fall of 2016, disappointing earning reports for Gannett for the second and third quarters of 2016 caused Gannett to pull out of talks on November 1.[37][38][39][40]

Acquisitions

List of Gannett Co. assets

Gannett's media properties include the following newspapers among the top 100 (by circulation—figures are approximate) in the United States:[64]

Significant digital investments

Directors and 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.[65] Gannett has a ten-member board of directors[66] and 11 senior executives.[67]

Post-split, Tegna retained Martore as the CEO, and Gannett promoted the Newspaper Chief Robert Dickey to be the new CEO.

References

  1. 1 2 "2016 Annual Report -" (PDF). Gannett Company.
  2. ↑ http://investors.gannett.com/press-release/gannett-reports-first-quarter-2017-results-operations
  3. ↑ "Contact Us." Gannett Company. Retrieved on January 10, 2011. "7950 Jones Branch Drive McLean, VA 22107-0150."
  4. ↑ "Tysons Corner CDP, Virginia." United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 7, 2009.
  5. ↑ Chen, Angela (March 12, 2015). "Gannett Split to Close By Mid-Year". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 9, 2015. (Subscription required (help)).
  6. ↑ Lichtman, Allan J. (2008). White Protestant Nation: The Rise of the American Conservative Movement. Atlantic Monthly Press via Amazon.com Look Inside. p. 87. ISBN 0-87113-984-7. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
  7. ↑ Ted Bartlett (August 1985). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Gannett Building". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  8. ↑ Neiva, Elizabeth M. Chain Building: The Consolidation of the American Newspaper Industry, 1955-80 Archived June 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine., in Business and Economic History, Vol. 24, no. 1 (Fall 1995)
  9. ↑ Associated Press (May 9, 1978). "Gannett, Combined Communications agree to $370-million merger". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  10. ↑ Associated Press (June 8, 1979). "Gannett Corp. wins giant merger OK". Deseret News. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  11. ↑ National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  12. ↑ Martyn, Peter H. (2009). "The Mojo in the Third Millennium". Journalism Practice. 3 (2): 196–215. ISSN 1751-2794. doi:10.1080/17512780802681264. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
  13. ↑ Rich, Carole (2013). Writing and Reporting News : a Coaching Method (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Wadsworth. p. 98. ISBN 1111344442.
  14. ↑ Lieberman, David (March 4, 2011). "Gannett launches corporate branding campaign". USA Today.
  15. ↑ Bullard, Gabe (June 21, 2011). "Gannett Executive Bonuses Criticized Amid Layoffs". Louisville, KY: WFPL.
  16. ↑ Bercovici, Jeff (February 22, 2012). "Gannett Building Paywalls Around All Its Papers Except USA Today". Forbes.
  17. ↑ Lovett, Genia (March 24, 2012). "Genia Lovett column: Post-Crescent journalists shouldn't have signed Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker recall petitions". The Post-Crescent. Appleton, WI. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012.
  18. ↑ Yu, Roger (August 21, 2012). "Gannett buys social-media ad company Blinq Media". USA Today. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  19. ↑ Loose, Ashley (October 5, 2012). "DISH customers may lose Gannett programming, including 12 News KPNX, over AutoHop feature". KNXV-TV. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
  20. ↑ Vuong, Andy (October 6, 2012). "Gannett threatening to black out stations in its dispute with Dish". Denver Post. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
  21. ↑ Warner, Melodie (October 8, 2012). "Dish, Gannett Reach New Deal". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  22. ↑ "Gannett to buy Belo for $1.5 billion". Reuters. 2013-06-13.
  23. ↑ Littleton, Cynthia (June 13, 2013). "Gannett in $2.2 Bil Deal to Acquire Belo Station Group; Deal will expand Gannett's clout as owner of Big 3 affiliates". Variety. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
  24. ↑ Free Press, Others Ask FCC To Deny Some Gannett/Belo Transfers, Broadcasting & Cable, July 24, 2013.
  25. ↑ Public Interest Groups, Cable Companies Oppose Gannett-Belo Merger, AdWeek, July 25, 2013.
  26. ↑ Eggerton, John (December 16, 2013). "Justice: Sander Can't Keep KMOV". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  27. ↑ "FCC OKs Gannett-Belo And Tribune-Local". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  28. ↑ Gannett Completes Its Acquisition of Belo, TVNewsCheck, Retrieved 23 December 2013
  29. ↑ Meredith Corp. closes on $177 million purchase of KMOV, stltoday.com, February 28, 2014.
  30. ↑ "Gannett Buys 6 London Broadcasting Stations". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  31. ↑ "Gannett Completes London Broadcasting Buy". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
  32. ↑ "Media Giant Gannett to Spin Off USA Today and Print Business". 5 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  33. ↑ "Gannett Reorganizing, Buying Cars.com". TVNewsCheck. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  34. ↑ Yu, Roger (April 21, 2015). "Gannett to change name to TEGNA amid print unit spinoff". USA Today. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  35. ↑ Roger Yunewspaper=USA Today (October 7, 2015). "Gannett to buy Journal Media Group for $280 million". Gannett Company.
  36. ↑ "Gannett introduces USA TODAY NETWORK, uniting local, national properties". USA Today. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  37. ↑ "Gannett and Tribune Publishing execs trade barbs as takeover battle heats up". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  38. ↑ "Tribune Publishing shares surge after Gannett launches takeover bid". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  39. ↑ Doctor, Ken. "Tribune chair: Sell to Gannett? We'll buy Gannett!". Politico. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  40. ↑ http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-gannett-pulls-tronc-offer-1102-biz-20161101-story.html
  41. ↑ "Congressional Record RECOGNIZING THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PENSACOLA NEWS JOURNAL". Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  42. ↑ "The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  43. ↑ "Observer-Reporter - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  44. ↑ "Combined Communications Agrees To a $370 Million Gannett Merger - 'Excellent' Records Cited Two Papers in Key Markets Gannett in Pact for Broadcast Chain Combined's Biggest Shareholders - Article - NYTimes.com". May 9, 1978. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  45. ↑ "GANNETT TAKES OVER WILMINGTON PAPERS - New Publisher Promises Coverage Of Ex-Owner, Du Pont Company With Which Staff Quarreled Assurance on Staff Size - Article - NYTimes.com". February 5, 1978. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  46. ↑ "Gannett to Acquire Nashville Tennessean, Sell Afternoon Paper". Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  47. ↑ "Gannett Buys 11 Newspapers". The New York Times. June 2, 1982. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  48. ↑ "The Milwaukee Sentinel - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  49. ↑ "GANNETT GETS FAMILY WEEKLY". The New York Times. February 22, 1985. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  50. ↑ "GANNETT GETS LOUISVILLE PAPERS FOR 300 MILLION". The New York Times. May 20, 1986. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  51. ↑ "Gannett Acquires Evening News". The New York Times. February 19, 1986. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  52. ↑ Jones, Tim (July 25, 1995). "Gannett Widens Scope, Acquiring Multimedia". Chicago Tribune.
  53. ↑ Gannett Government Media Archived October 6, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  54. ↑ "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  55. ↑ s1jobs.com
  56. ↑ Gannett announces terms of offer to acquire U.K.'s News Communications & Media
  57. ↑ Jones, Tim (June 29, 2000). "Gannett Agrees To Buy Central Newspapers". Chicago Tribune.
  58. ↑ Gannett to acquire Thomson properties, including 21 daily newspapers
  59. ↑ "Gettysburg Times - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  60. ↑ Davidson, Paul (August 4, 2005). "Three-way newspaper deal". USA Today.
  61. ↑ Gannett completes the acquisition of WATL-TV Channel 36 in Atlanta
  62. ↑ Staff. "Gannett Completes London Broadcasting Buy". Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  63. ↑ "Gannett acquires 11 media organizations digital first media". gannett.com (Press release). Retrieved 2015-06-29.
  64. ↑ "Top 100 Newspapers in the United States". www.infoplease.com. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  65. ↑ Krantz, Matt (October 7, 2011). "Gannett CEO Dubow resigns; Martore named successor". USA Today.
  66. ↑ "Gannett Board of DIrectors". gannett.com. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  67. ↑ "Barbara Wall". Retrieved April 26, 2016.
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