This time it’s Lee Enterprises in the cross-hairs. Adding it to its empire would leave two American local newspaper giants — Gannett and Alden — and everyone else far behind.
It now makes more revenue from digital than from print and continues to add new subscribers at a record pace. But its brutal COVID-driven drop in advertising will be echoed all across the industry.
Wyoming has six “daily” newspapers, but now none of them will actually print a paper seven days a week. It could be the first time a U.S. state will publish no newspapers on Monday mornings…ever.
The vulture fund may be just fine with waiting a bit longer to make its next move to consolidate the local newspaper industry. Meanwhile, newsrooms wait.
By selling Berkshire Hathaway’s newspapers to Lee Enterprises, the world’s most successful investor is acknowledging the industry’s downhill slide is not near an end.
The number of employees soon to be cut at the No. 1 U.S. newspaper chain is about the same number as the No. 2 chain has in total. But newsrooms should mostly be spared — for now.
What will the largest local news company need to do and be to be successful in the 2020s? Neither Gannett nor Gatehouse has offered any big vision of what that is, or could be, even fueled by new money.
The merger of the United States’ No. 1 and No. 2 newspaper chains will likely spark a new wave of consolidation among its smaller competitors. But will the potential cost savings be eaten up by debt payments to financiers?
Doctor, Ken. "Newsonomics: The GateHouse/Gannett newspaper megamerger could be announced as soon as Monday morning." Nieman Journalism Lab. Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, 4 Aug. 2019. Web. 6 Jul. 2022.
APA
Doctor, K. (2019, Aug. 4). Newsonomics: The GateHouse/Gannett newspaper megamerger could be announced as soon as Monday morning. Nieman Journalism Lab. Retrieved July 6, 2022, from https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/08/newsonomics-the-gatehouse-gannett-newspaper-megamerger-could-be-announced-as-soon-as-tomorrow-morning/
Chicago
Doctor, Ken. "Newsonomics: The GateHouse/Gannett newspaper megamerger could be announced as soon as Monday morning." Nieman Journalism Lab. Last modified August 4, 2019. Accessed July 6, 2022. https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/08/newsonomics-the-gatehouse-gannett-newspaper-megamerger-could-be-announced-as-soon-as-tomorrow-morning/.
Wikipedia
{{cite web
| url = https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/08/newsonomics-the-gatehouse-gannett-newspaper-megamerger-could-be-announced-as-soon-as-tomorrow-morning/
| title = Newsonomics: The GateHouse/Gannett newspaper megamerger could be announced as soon as Monday morning
| last = Doctor
| first = Ken
| work = [[Nieman Journalism Lab]]
| date = 4 August 2019
| accessdate = 6 July 2022
| ref = {{harvid|Doctor|2019}}
}}
