With the shutdown of almost 1 in 4 newspapers in the U.S., the newspaper industry in this region is going through a tough time since 2004. Moreover, in order to survive, many organizations had to take a critical decision to massively shrink their size. However, the latest investors’ approval for the key unification agreement in the industry has allowed for single-handed management of over 260 dailies.
Recently, the unification proposal of Gannett and GateHouse Media—the two largest newspaper chains—was approved by the investors of both the firms. This merger will form the biggest newspaper company that owns over 550 newspapers in the U.S. region. However, it also alarms the possibility of a huge number of job cuts. While the investors of both companies favored this merger, the firms announced that the agreement is supposed to be completed this week.
The parent company of GateHouse Media, New Media Investment Group is supposed to take over Gannett, it’s a smaller competitor. The newly formed organization will continue with the name Gannett and will hold the ownership of Gannett papers including The Arizona Republic, USA Today, and The Detroit Free Press. Moreover, diverse papers from GateHouse publications such as The Austin American-Statesman, The Palm Beach Post, and The Akron Beacon Journal are also supposed to be run under the management of this latest firm. The researchers from the University of North Carolina estimated that the latest firm will have a print circulation of more than 8 Million.
On a similar note, Tribune Publishing recently stated that from December 13, 2019, the audience of Hoy, a website and weekly newspaper in the Spanish language, will not be able to read this newspaper. While announcing the newspaper shutdown, the company spokesperson stated that the affected staff members will get an opportunity to work in Tribune Publishing’s present vacant positions.