CEO OUT As Gannett Streamlines Structure

Gannett Co. on Thursday said that the CEO of its operating company, Paul Bascobert, will leave the company after the board eliminated his position to streamline its operating structure.

USAToday reports the departure is not the result of any inappropriate action or violation of policy by Bascobert, or by any deterioration in the business, the company said.

Michael Reed, chairman and chief executive officer of the overall public entity, Gannett Co., has assumed Bascobert’s responsibilities.

“The Board and I would like to thank Paul for his contributions during such an important period for our Company," Reed said. "Paul made a significant impact, helping to integrate the two companies, navigate through this current pandemic and lay the groundwork for our revenue transformation."

Paul Bascobert

Gannett Co., on Thursday said the CEO of its operating company, Paul Bascobert, will leave the company.

The $1.1 billion merger of USA TODAY publisher Gannett Co. and GateHouse Media, agreed to last August and closed in November, made it the nation's largest U.S. media company by print circulation and one of the largest by digital audience.

The scale of the combined company, which owns more than 260 daily publications, was intended to help Gannett weather precipitous declines in print advertising and circulation while positioning it to better compete for digital advertising against Alphabet’s Google and Facebook. Gannett was proceeding with plans to cut $300 million in annual costs, connected to the merger, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

Bascobert, 56, joined Gannett prior to the merger as president and CEO in August 2019. A former executive with Dow Jones, Bloomberg and XO Group Inc., he was named CEO of the operating company, Gannett Media Corp. in November. Reed became chairman and CEO of Gannett Co., the publicly traded holding company that owns Gannett Media.

Ken Doctor, a news industry analyst with Newsonomics, says the departure did not come as a surprise.

Bascobert, hired by Gannett just months before the merger, faced the difficult task of knitting together two large media companies with distinct businesses and cultures.