UNC study paints a bleak picture for the future of newspapers
A University of North Carolina study paints a bleak picture for the feature of newspapers — and calls out GateHouse Media for their devastating cuts at the Providence Journal as well as some of their other assets. The data used in the study is from 2017 and the cuts and closures have only increased in 2018.
The study “THE EXPANDING NEWS DESERT" finds that there is a growing number of newspapers that have closed and or been slashed.
“The announcement that a newspaper is being sold to GateHouse – the largest newspaper chain in the country — has become commonplace in recent years. Since 2013, the company has spent more than $1 billion on acquisitions, snapping up dozens of papers in 15 states at greatly reduced valuations,” cited the study.
“As a result, GateHouse-owned newsrooms are often half the size within a matter of months. The experience at the Columbia (Missouri) Daily-Tribune, an independently owned paper that Gatehouse purchased in 2016, is typical. Multiple rounds of layoffs have wiped out more than half the newsroom staff of 20, leaving only one full-time state and politics reporter as of February 2018, responsible for covering a community of 120,000 residents. In addition, GateHouse eliminated local columnists and the longtime editorial cartoonist,” cited UNC’s study.
Dan Kennedy, a professor of Journalism at Northeastern University and a columnist for WGBH in Boston calls out GateHouse’s devastating cuts at the Providence Journal as one of the worst examples of corporate cutting.
“GateHouse’s decimation of the ProJo, which it purchased in 2014, has been especially brutal: By July 2018, newsroom employment had been cut by 75 percent, bringing the staffing levels below 100. According to the NewsGuild-CWA, there were fewer than 20 reporters and columnists responsible for covering both state and city government,” wrote Kennedy in a column published on Wednesday.
But the UNC study Kennedy references was written months before another round of Providence Journal buyouts and a recent round of layoffs.
Guild Protests outside Providence Journal against cuts by GateHouse in 2017
Those two rounds of cuts saw the newsroom, editorial, and photography departments take hits.
In addition, the Providence Journal has slashed columnists like Scott Turner, who is joining GoLocal weekly.
Kennedy points out that the UNC study finds:
- About 60 daily newspapers and 1,700 weeklies have closed since 2004, an overall decline of about 25 percent.
- Nearly 200 of the 3,143 counties in the United States no longer have a newspaper. More than 2,000 counties have no daily paper.
- Residents in these “news deserts” — that is, areas without newspapers — “are generally poorer, older and less educated than the average American.”
In Rhode Island, the newspapers like the Providence Phoenix and the Newport Mercury (closed by GateHouse) have disappeared.
Corporate Consolidation
“The GateHouse acquisition spree has been fueled by debt. In 2017, its total debt equaled $609 million, roughly 14 times its cash flow," according to the report. GateHouse's corporate publicly traded parent company New Media Investment Group saw its stock bounce back a bit on Thursday, but is still trading down nearly 20 percent from its 52-week high. The company is scheduled to report third-quarter numbers on Wednesday.
"All of this calls into question how sustainable New Media/GateHouse’s aggressive acquisition and regional roll-up strategy will be long-term, especially as the company pivots away from smaller markets with less competition and focuses, instead, on acquiring dailies in larger, metro areas with numerous media competitors," writes the UNC study.
Corporate structure of the Projo leads all the way to Tokyo -- SoftBank
More recently, GateHouse has begun to close a significant number of newspapers around the country. As GoLocal reported in September, The Providence Journal and Newport Daily News lost a total of at least seven staffers that week. Both papers are owned by newspaper GateHouse.
The cuts and departures include some of the best-known remaining names at the Providence newspaper.
Deputy Editorial Page Editor Randy Edgar, reporter Andy Smith, photographer Glenn Osmundson, and online producer Stephen Ide were let go from the Providence Journal. The Projo layoffs are just part of the story.
The Newport Daily News' Ann Randall, Jane Bailey, Debbie Deming left the paper as well.
Alan Rosenberg, Executive Editor of the Providence Journal told GoLocal in September, “We had some layoffs in Providence yesterday, due to continued difficult business conditions. We’ll continue to deploy staff and freelance writers to make sure that we are covering Rhode Island’s most interesting and important stories.”
The closures by GateHouse have left some communities in the so-called "news desert."
In Arkansas alone, the newspaper group has closed a total of five papers in recent weeks. The closures are leaving multiple communities without any news coverage.
GateHouse Media, which last week closed two newspapers in central Arkansas, will follow that up with three more closings in Hope, Arkadelphia and Prescott.
“A community loses part of its spirit when it loses its newspaper. We're saddened for the hard-working employees of these five newspapers that have a long history with our association,” said Ashley Wimberley in an email to GoLocal. She is the executive director of the Arkansas Press Association.
“September 14 will be the last day of operations for the Siftings-Herald in Arkadelphia, the Hope Star and the Nevada County Picayune-Times in Prescott,” reported the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Efforts to reach Rosenberg for this article were unsuccessful.
Related Slideshow: GoLocal Statewide Poll - FULL RESULTS, Conducted by Harvard’s Della Volpe Oct. 2018
Sponsor: GoLocal Prov
Sample: N=502 Rhode Island General Election Voters
Interviewing Period: October 5 – October 9, 2018
Directed by: John Della Volpe, Harvard University, SocialSphere, Inc.
Slideshow: responses are not in the order of the questionnaire
This question is about the total income of YOUR HOUSEHOLD for the PAST 12 MONTHS. Please include your income PLUS the income of all members living in your household (including cohabiting partners and armed forces members living at home).
What particular ethnic group or nationality - such as English, French, Italian, Irish, Latino, Jewish, African American, and so forth - do you consider yourself a part of or feel closest to?
When it comes to voting, do you consider yourself to be affiliated with the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, Moderate, or Unaffiliated with a major party?
In November, there will be a statewide general election for Governor and many other state offices. How likely is it that you will vote in this election? Will you definitely be voting, will you probably be voting, are you 50-50...
Next is a series of qualities and attributes that candidates for Governor could possess. Which candidate for Governor does each attribute apply to most? [RANDOMIZED]
Next is a series of qualities and attributes that candidates for Governor could possess. Which candidate for Governor does each attribute apply to most? [RANDOMIZED]
Will ensure that we have high-quality affordable health care.
Next is a series of qualities and attributes that candidates for Governor could possess. Which candidate for Governor does each attribute apply to most? [RANDOMIZED]
Next is a series of qualities and attributes that candidates for Governor could possess. Which candidate for Governor does each attribute apply to most? [RANDOMIZED]
Will make government more accountable to the people.
Next is a series of qualities and attributes that candidates for Governor could possess. Which candidate for Governor does each attribute apply to most? [RANDOMIZED]
Next is a series of qualities and attributes that candidates for Governor could possess. Which candidate for Governor does each attribute apply to most? [RANDOMIZED]
Is committed to improving education in public schools.
Next is a series of qualities and attributes that candidates for Governor could possess. Which candidate for Governor does each attribute apply to most? [RANDOMIZED]
Next is a series of qualities and attributes that candidates for Governor could possess. Which candidate for Governor does each attribute apply to most? [RANDOMIZED]
Next is a series of qualities and attributes that candidates for Governor could possess. Which candidate for Governor does each attribute apply to most? [RANDOMIZED]
Next is a series of qualities and attributes that candidates for Governor could possess. Which candidate for Governor does each attribute apply to most? [RANDOMIZED]
Next is a series of qualities and attributes that candidates for Governor could possess. Which candidate for Governor does each attribute apply to most? [RANDOMIZED]
If the election for Governor were held today and the candidates were: [ROTATE] Democrat Gina Raimondo, Republican Allan Fung and Independent Joe Trillo, for whom would you vote?
Attorney generals in several states have begun investigating sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy, opening investigations and issuing subpoenas for documents.
Do you favor or oppose the Rhode Island Attorney General opening an investigation into the Archdiocese of Providence on issues related to possible sexual abuse of children?
If the election for the U.S. Senate were held today and the candidates were: [ROTATE] Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse and Republican Robert Flanders, for whom would you vote?
Recently, it was announced that state officials approved a fast-track regulatory review of Massachusetts based Partners HealthCare’s proposed takeover of Care New England, Rhode Island’s second-largest hospital system, and operator Women & Infants, Butler and Kent Hospitals. [RANDOMIZED]
Do you believe the quality of care for Rhode Islanders will:
Recently, it was announced that state officials approved a fast-track regulatory review of Massachusetts based Partners HealthCare’s proposed takeover of Care New England, Rhode Island’s second-largest hospital system, and operator Women & Infants, Butler and Kent Hospitals. [RANDOMIZED]
Do you believe the number of jobs available to Rhode Islanders will:
Earlier this year, legislation was filed in the General Assembly that would require that all Rhode Island public schools have a school resource officer on the premises -- if a school has over 1,200 students -- two school resource officers would need to be present.
Do you support or oppose expanding Rhode Island’s free college tuition program at the
Community College of Rhode Island to the state’s two four-year colleges so that the last two
years of tuition at Rhode Island College and URI would be free for those recent high school
graduates, who are in a solid academic standing, and on track to graduate in four years? It is estimated that the cost of the program would be $35 million.
Do you support or oppose an Educational Bill of Rights for students and parents in Rhode Island that includes:
1) The right to be taught by effective teachers.
2) The right not to be taught by teachers who, after due process evaluation, fail to meet standards established by state and local education officials.
3) The right to appropriate academic materials and resources.
4) The right to safe, clean and environmental-friendly school facilities.
5) The right to emotionally supportive schools that do not tolerate harassment, discrimination or abuse.
6) The right to attend a school where funding is based on student need with the goal of providing
access to adequate educational opportunities.
7) The right to a pathway out of a failing school.
8) The right to a fair, accurate and transparent assessment system that measures student
performance and need.
9) The right of parents to current and reliable information about their child’s progress and performance.
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