GANNETT LAYS OFF 400, CEO BUYS $1.2 MILLION OF ITS STOCK

Gannett lays off 400 while its CEO bought $1.2 million in Gannett stock. That’s today’s America and the newspaper situation.

 

Gannett laid off 400 employees and eliminated 400 open positions. That’s Gannett’s solution to a dismal second quarter $54 million loss despite $749 million in revenues.

Executives were not spared. 3 of the 10 were eliminated from the executive team.

Non-union employees were dumped far more than union workers. A message there for the value of being in a union?

Gannett CEO Harry Reed, who was paid $7.7 million in 2021 while Gannett’s median salary was $48,419, bought $1.2 million worth of Gannett stock, or 500,000 shares, immediately before the layoffs.

There’ll be no pity party necessary for Harry, because Gannett is wild about Harry. Unfortunately, the 400 employees didn’t get that same warm embrace . . . just a boot in the butt. 

MIZELL STEWART RETIRES FROM GANNETT/USA TODAY NETWORK

 

Former BJ managing editor Mizell Stewart will retire from Gannett and the USA Today Network October 1.

Twinsburg native and Bowling Green graduate Mizell’s career began with the Springfield News-Sun, a Cox newspaper, 35 years ago. Then came the Dayton Daily News before Mizell arrived at the BJ in 2006.

Then he migrated to running newsrooms at the Tallahassee Democrat, a second stint at the BJ and then Evansville Courier & Press before leading corporate teams at The E.W. Scripps Company, Journal Media Group and Gannett / USA TODAY Network.

That’s 5 newsrooms, 5 newspaper companies, 6 mergers, acquisitions and asset sales. A LOT of stickers on Mizell’s luggage!

Wife Valerie and Mizell live in West Chester Township, which is near Middletown and Hamilton and Cincinnati. They have been married 28 years.

BILL CRAVEN, BJ TRUCK DRIVER ALMOST 4 DECADES, PASSES AWAY

 

Bill Craven, a BJ truck driver for almost 40 years, passed away Sunday, August 7.

He retired from the BJ in 1998. He began in 1959 and received his 25-Year Service Club membership in 1984.

He lived in Clinton before he moved to the Village of St. Edwards, his residence till his final days. He was married to Judy for 57 years. She predeceased him.

Bill was legendary for hunting, working on cars and family fish fries.

His funeral will be Wednesday at 11 a.m. in Dunn-Quigley Funeral Home before burial in Holy Cross Cemetery.

Bill’s obituary:

William Craven

AKRON - William E. Craven, 86, passed away at the Village of St. Edward’s on August 7, 2022 He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather.

He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Judy of 57 years; son, John; daughter, Sandy; and great grandson, Jude.

Bill worked nearly 40 years as a truck driver for the Akron Beacon Journal, retiring in 1998.

He is survived by son, Donald (Barb); daughter, Sherry; and son, Robert (Laurie); sister, Betty Nelson; and sister-in-law Carol Standen; grandchildren, Michael, Brandy, Alicia, Jackie, Jeannie, and Evelyn; and seven great grandchildren.

Bill enjoyed hunting and working on cars with his son as well as the annual family fish fry’s. He will be dearly missed by everyone.

Calling hours will be from 4 to 7 p.m. TONIGHT at the Dunn-Quigley Funeral Home (811 Grant St.) where funeral services will take place on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery.

GANNETT'S $54 MILLION LOSS MEANS MASSIVE LAYOFFS

 

Gannett loses $54 million in 2^nd quarter

Massive layoffs coming

Gannett, which owns the BJ and more than 200 other newspapers, reported a $54 million loss for the second quarter. Massive layoffs are coming.

Digital newspaper just don’t draw near as much advertising dollars as printed newspapers.

The BJ began in 1839 as the Summit Beacon. Charles Landon Knight, John Shively Knight’s father, bought the BJ in 1907. The BJ moved to 44 E. Market Street in 1927. JSK became editor and publisher in 1933 when his dad passed away.

If you want to read more, go to

Gannett reports disastrous financial results; layoffs are coming - Poynter

KEN WRIGHT'S SON, STEVE, AND STEVE'S WIFE HONORED WITH THEIR DAY IN CORAL GABLES

 

Steve Wright, son of the late BJ computer honcho Ken Wright, and his wife Heidi Johnson-Wright were honored July 25 with Steve Wright and Heidi Johnson-Wright day by the city of Coral Gables, Florida for their three decades of work on behalf of people with disabilities.

Johnson-Wright has used a wheelchair for mobility for 40 years and brings her practical experience as well as her 30+ years of professional expertise to the University of Miami classroom in Florida.

Wright is America’s go-to journalist for reporting on architecture, town planning, mobility engineering and urban policy – as they relate to people with disabilities and access for all.

Steve and Heidi have published more than 1,000 articles on best practices for planning, architecture, transportation engineering and urban design for people with disabilities.

They have lectured at national conferences across the United States and in Europe. This year, they have combined to appear on more than one dozen podcasts focusing on better housing, mobility, jobs, parks and quality of life for people with disabilities.

The Wrights donated 100% of their School of Architecture professor pay toward further outreach and education to support Universal Design on a global scale.

The apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Ken Wright was one of the nicest people I worked with during my 27 years at the BJ, including when I was a newsroom coordinator and Ken did the same for Composing and Bob Tigelman’s computers wizards who kept the whole system up and running.

Steve is a 1987 Kent State graduate. Heidi is a 1982 KSU grad.

Steve’s first job was with the Columbus Dispatch because his wife was starting law school at Ohio State. He covered growth, planning, urban affairs and stories on people with disabilities, including the landmark passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990.

By 2000, when Steve saw the handwriting on the wall for newspapers’ woes, he became Senior Urban Policy Advisor to the Chairman of the Miami City Commission.

By the time Steve was 50, a founded a  storytelling firm with the emphasis on people with disabilities, which strikes 60 million Americans.

KNIGHT-RIDDER EXECUTIVE JEROME CEPPOS PASSES AWAY

 Jerome Ceppos passes away

Former Mercury News executive editor and Louisiana State University Mass Communication dean Jerome Ceppos, 75, passed away.

He left Knight-Ridder after playing a significant role there in 2005.

• Clark Hoyt, reporter at the Detroit Free Press and Miami Herald Washington correspondent, wrote the article about Ceppos’ passing.

Knight Ridder, based in San Jose, is defunct and The Mercury News is owned by MediaNews Group. John S. Knight, who inherited the heavily in debt Akron Beacon Journal from his father in 1933, built one of America’s finest newspaper groups, Knight Newspapers. BJ owners were Knight, Knight-Ridder, McClatchy, Black Press, Gatehouse Media and, today, Gannett, passed around and plundered for survival and profit. The BJ began in 1839.