Journalists to strike June 5 at the largest US newspaper chain

[Omaha Steve]

https://apnews.com/article/gannett-strike-journalists-mike-reed-6376989ac18a630a4ef496e534839a2c

Journalists across the U.S. will walk off their jobs next week at roughly two dozen newsrooms run by Gannett, the largest newspaper chain in the U.S., their union said Thursday.

The mostly one-day strike, which will start June 5, aims to protest Gannett’s leadership and cost-cutting measures imposed since its 2019 merger with GateHouse Media.

According to the NewsGuild, the union representing workers at more than 50 Gannett newsrooms, those measures include job cuts and the shuttering of dozens of newsrooms; squeezed pay and benefits; and a failure to negotiate pay and working conditions in good faith.

In a statement, Gannett Chief Communications Officer Lark-Marie Anton said the company “strives to provide competitive wages, benefits, and meaningful opportunities for all our valued employees.” She added that “there will be no disruption to our content or ability to deliver trusted news” as a result of the expected work stoppage.

FULL story at link above.

[Doc Sportello]

1. Most of us in the newsroom were happy when Gannett bought our family owned paper

A higher standard of professionalism, more funding and industry connections was what we expected. Uh, no. Instead we got more regulations, more hours to work and no more pay for those longer hours. It was all top down with no understanding of our local needs, with only lip serivce paid to our input. That paper is now only a shell of its former self.