Gannett Company

"Gannett" redirects here. For other uses, see Gannett (disambiguation).
Gannett Co., Inc.
Type Public
Traded as NYSE: GCI
S&P 500 Component
Industry Media
Founded 1906
Founder(s) Frank Gannett
Headquarters Tysons Corner, Virginia, U.S.
(McLean mailing address)
Key people Gracia Martore
(President and CEO)
Products Newspapers
television
Internet media
Revenue Decrease US$ 5.439 billion (2010)[1]
Operating income Increase US$ 999.7 million (2010)[1]
Net income Increase US$ 588.2 million (2010)[1]
Total assets Decrease US$ 6.817 billion (2010)[1]
Total equity Increase US$ 2.334 billion (2010)[1]
Employees 32,600 (December 2010)
Website Gannett.com
Gannett is headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia.

Gannett Company, Inc.[pronunciation?] is a publicly traded media holding company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, near McLean in Greater Washington DC.[2][3] It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. Its assets include the national newspaper USA Today and the 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, NY, The Des Moines Register, the Detroit Free Press and The News-Press in Fort Myers. Gannett owns 23 television stations through Gannett Broadcasting Inc.[4] and is the largest group owner of NBC-affiliated stations.[5] Gannett also holds substantial properties in digital media including PointRoll, BNQT Media Group,[6]Planet Discover,[7]Ripple6[8] and ShopLocal through Gannett Digital.

History

[icon] This section requires expansion with: information on Gannett's early history (1923-1986). (October 2012)

Gannett Company, Inc. was founded in 1923 by Frank Gannett in Rochester, New York as an outgrowth of a newspaper business he had begun in Elmira, New York in 1906. Gannett, who was known as a conservative,[9] 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.[10] By 1979, the chain had grown to 79 newspapers.[11]

In 1979, Gannett acquired Combined Communications Corp., operator of 17 television stations, for $370 million.[12][13]

The company was headquartered in Rochester until 1986, when it relocated to Arlington County, Virginia. Its former headquarters building, the Gannett Building, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.[14] Gannett's oldest newspaper still in circulation is the Star-Gazette located in Elmira, New York. 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.[15] The practice has spread throughout the chain.

On March 7, 2011, Gannett introduced its new logo for the company, which replaced the stylized "G" logo that was in use since the 1970s (which was notably used on it's TV stations as a corporate/local ID for many years, with different animations). The rebranding also introduced a new tagline for the company: "It's all within reach."[16]

In 2011, Gannett was criticized for laying off 700 U.S. employees as a cost-cutting measure after having increased executive salaries and bonuses. Bob Dickey, Gannett's U.S. newspapers division president, was paid $3.4 million in 2010, up from $1.9 million the previous year. 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."[17]

Gannett Logo used until March 2011.

In February 2012, Gannett announced that it would be implementing a paywall system across all of its newspaper websites, with non-subscriber access will be limited to between five and fifteen articles per month, varying by newspaper. The USA Today website will be the only one continuing to allow unrestricted access.[18]

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.[19]

On August 21, 2012, Gannett acquired Blinq Media.[20]

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 has ordered that Dish discontinue AutoHop on the account that it is affecting advertising revenues for Gannett's television station. Gannett threatens to pull all of its stations should the skirmish continue beyond October 7th and Dish and Gannett fail to reach an agreement.[21][22] The two parties eventually reached an agreement after extending the deadline for a few hours.[23]

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List of Gannett Co. assets

Main article: List of Gannett Company assets

Gannett's media properties include the following newspapers among the top 100 (by circulation—figures are approximate) in the United States, and the following television stations:[24][25]

Print media

Broadcast media

Gannett Digital

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Directors

Gannett's chairman, president and chief executive officer was Craig A. Dubow. Dubow resigned on October 6, 2011, citing health reasons. Gracia Martore Gannett's chief operating officer, a 26-year company veteran, was chosen as Dubow's successor.[26] Other directors are:

  • John Jeffry Louis
  • Scott K. McCune
  • Duncan M. McFarland
  • Susan P. Ness

Senior executives are:

  • Robert Dickey, President, U.S Community Publishing Division
  • Paul Davidson - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Newsquest plc
  • Michael G. Kane Senior Group President, Interstate Newspaper Group, and President and Publisher, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
  • Roxanne Horning Senior Vice President, Gannett Human Resources
  • Dave Lougee President, Gannett Broadcasting
  • Gracia Martore President and Chief Executive Officer
  • John A. (Jack) Williams President, Gannett Digital Ventures
  • Jake Guzik, Finance Controller.
  • William Behan Senior Vice President, Gannett Labor Relations
  • W. Curtis Riddle Senior Group President, East Newspaper Group, and President and Publisher, The News Journal, Wilmington, Delaware
  • John A. (Jack) Williams President, Gannett Digital Ventures
  • Todd Mayman - Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
  • David Payne Senior vice president and chief digital officer
  • Carol Hudler Senior Group President, South Newspaper Group, and President and Publisher, "The Tennessean"
  • Saira Stahl Vice President, Strategy
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References

  1. ^ a b c d e "2010 Form 10-K, Gannett Co., Inc.". United States Securities and Exchange Commission. 
  2. ^ "Contact Us." Gannett Company. Retrieved on January 10, 2011. "7950 Jones Branch Drive McLean, VA 22107-0150."
  3. ^ "Tysons Corner CDP, Virginia." United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 7, 2009.
  4. ^ "Web Sites by Division". Gannett.com. Retrieved 2012-01-04. 
  5. ^ Bachmann, Katy (March 2, 2010). "Gannett Scores With Olympics". Adweek. Retrieved June 25, 2012. 
  6. ^ "USA TODAY Media Kit :: Press Room :: Press Release :: January 24, 2008". Usatoday.com. 2008-01-24. Retrieved 2012-01-04. 
  7. ^ "Mobile Apps, Local Search, Business Directory, Events, Ad System – Planet Discover". Planetdiscover.com. Retrieved 2012-01-04. 
  8. ^ [1][dead link]
  9. ^ 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. 
  10. ^ 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. 
  11. ^ Neiva, Elizabeth M. Chain Building: The Consolidation of the American Newspaper Industry, 1955-80, in Business and Economic History, Vol. 24, no. 1 (Fall 1995)
  12. ^ Associated Press (May 9, 1978). "Gannett, Combined Communications agree to $370-million merger". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved April 1, 2013. 
  13. ^ Associated Press (June 8, 1979). "Gannett Corp. wins giant merger OK". Deseret News. Retrieved April 1, 2013. 
  14. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. 
  15. ^ Martyn, Peter H. (2009). "The Mojo in the Third Millennium". Journalism Practice 3 (2): 196–215. doi:10.1080/17512780802681264. ISSN 1751-2794. Retrieved November 19, 2011. 
  16. ^ Lieberman, David (March 4, 2011). "Gannett launches corporate branding campaign". USA Today.
  17. ^ Bullard, Gabe (June 21, 2011). "Gannett Executive Bonuses Criticized Amid Layoffs". Louisville, KY: WFPL.
  18. ^ Bercovici, Jeff (February 22, 2012). "Gannett Building Paywalls Around All Its Papers Except USA Today". Forbes.
  19. ^ 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. 
  20. ^ Yu, Roger (August 21, 2012). "Gannett buys social-media ad company Blinq Media". USA Today. Retrieved August 22, 2012. 
  21. ^ Loose, Ashley (October 5, 2012). "DISH customers may lose Gannett programming, including 12 News KPNX, over AutoHop feature". KNXV-TV. Retrieved October 6, 2012. 
  22. ^ Vuong, Andy (October 6, 2012). "Gannett threatening to black out stations in its dispute with Dish". Denver Post. Retrieved October 6, 2012. 
  23. ^ Warner, Melodie (October 8, 2012). "Dish, Gannett Reach New Deal". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 8, 2012. 
  24. ^ "Our Locations By Division". Gannett. Retrieved 2012-01-04. 
  25. ^ ""Audit Bureau of Circulations: US Newspapers", September 30, 2010". Abcas3.accessabc.com. 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2012-01-04. 
  26. ^ Krantz, Matt (October 7, 2011). "Gannett CEO Dubow resigns; Martore named successor". USA Today.
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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gannett Company
Gannett Company Inc.
Corporate directors:   Gracia C. Martore (Chairman, President & CEO)   •   Full list of directors
United States national newspapers:   USA Today    •   USA Weekend    •   Sports Weekly
Gannett Company regional daily newspapers in the United States
Gannett Company television stations in the United States
ABC affiliates
CBS affiliates
NBC affiliates
MyNetworkTV affiliates
Newsquest daily newspapers in the United Kingdom
Gannett Government Media newspapers and magazines
Other assets: The Big Lead  •  Captivate Network  •  Clipper Magazine  •  Gannett Digital  •  Gannett Foundation  •  Gannett Healthcare Group  •  Pointroll Inc.  •  ShopLocal
Investments: California Newspapers Partnership (19.49%) •  CareerBuilder (50.8%) •  Classified Ventures (23.6%) •  Metromix (50%) •  Texas-New Mexico Partnership (40.64%) •  Topix (minority stake)  
* indicates award given to widow in year after his death
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Last modified on 16 May 2013, at 10:35