Gannett on Wednesday announced a new leadership team that consists of a mix of members of the publisher’s old executive team and officials from the company that officially acquired it, New Media Investment Group.
Former New Media Chairman Mike Reed will serve as CEO of the new public company, which will be named Gannett Co.
Gannett Co.’s new operating subsidiary, Gannett Media Corp., will be run by Paul Bascobert.
The new Gannett boasts more than 250 daily publications, including USA Today, the Detroit Free Press, The Columbus Dispatch and The Arizona Republic, as well as a lineup of digital marketing services and weekly publications.
“We’ve spent a lot of time carefully selecting the management team for the company, and it’ll be a good blend of the two companies on the management team, which will help the culture issue,” Reed said in a statement.
“Our mission is to connect, protect and celebrate our local communities,” Bascobert added. “Great journalism really is the core of that mission. The question really becomes, what’s the sustainable and exciting business model that powers that mission?”
The merger, which was completed Tuesday, comes as more than half of the largest newspapers in the U.S. have laid off employees since January 2017, according to a 2018 Pew Research Center study.
Pew found that nine of the 16 newspapers with circulations of 250,000 or more, or 56 percent, had experienced layoffs during a 16-month period ending in April 2018.