So that's what happened in Westchester

I asked last week what happened in Westchester. We were hearing about layoffs at Gannett Co.'s Westchester County franchise, The Journal News.

The New York Times answered this week:

You’re Gone. But Hey, You Can Reapply.

OR from Columbia Journalism Review:

Gannett spins the hamster wheel

Bottom line in both reports: The entire business reporting and editing staff was laid off in a reorganization after all 288 news and advertising employees were asked to reapply for their jobs.

What happened in Westchester?

Chris Roush reports that the "entire business news staff at The Journal News in Westchester County, New York, a Gannett newspaper, is gone this week in the round of 50 cutbacks at the paper."

Westchester Biz News Staff Gone

Since Gannett Blog closed down in July, there's no quick way to find comments from the staff in Westchester. Anyone know what happened?

Roush, director of the Carolina Business News Initiative at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, reports from his Talking Biz News blog.

Gannett cuts hit Cincy, Louisville and Phoenix

After announcing that 1400 Gannett employees would lose their jobs this week, the shake out is starting to take shape.

According to an Editor & Publisher report, Enquirer Media in Cincinnati, which includes The Cincinnati Enquirer and other publications, eliminated 101 positions this week. Included in the cuts were editorial page editor David Wells, columnist Peter Bronson, and the entire staff of its arts-and-entertainment tabloid CinWeekly.

The outlook was dim for Phoenix Wednesday as well, as confirmation of nearly two dozen staffers losing their jobs at The Arizona Republic came in.
According to the Phoenix Business Journal, designers, feature writers, copy editors, and business and community reporters were among the latest newsroom staffers cut, which was said to total to 20.
The publisher of Louisville-based, The Courier-Journal says the newspaper has eliminated 44 jobs, or 7 percent of its work force. The layoffs were the second round at The Courier-Journal and Gannett since late last year.

View the full story here.

Gannett to cut 1,400 jobs

The Associated Press reported today that Gannett Co. plans to cut 1,400 jobs this month. That is about 3 percent of its total work force.
Bob Dickey, head of the company's newspaper division, informed staff of the layoffs in a letter Wednesday.
The majority of layoffs will come by July 9, he said.
The move follows a 10 percent cut at Gannett last year, which left the company with about 41,500 employees.
View the story here.

Gannett to cut more than 1,000 jobs

The Wall Street Journal reports that Gannett Co. will cut between 1,000 and 2,000 jobs from its work force.
WSJ sites a person "familiar with the company's thinking" with the information.

According to the article, cuts will come from the U.S. Community Publishing division, which includes Gannett's local dailies. But cuts won't impact USA Today.
The move, would follow cost-cutting efforts by Gannett over the past year when the publisher cut 4,600 jobs last year and then required most remaining employees to take furloughs in the first and second quarters.
Gannett, which reports second-quarter earnings in mid-July, had $3.7 billion in debt at the end of the first quarter.

View the story here.

Gannett to Webcast quarter earnings conference call

Gannett announced on its Web site today that it will be Webcasting its conference call discussing the company's second-quarter earnings with financial analysts July 15 at 10:00 a.m. EST.
The company’s earnings announcement will be released to news outlets and wire services before the market opens on July 15. Gannett will also post a transcript of the call and allow the public to replay the call on its site.
View the press release here.

How do you think Gannett has done in its second-quarter earnings? Comment and tell us.

Gannett CEO takes medical leave

Gannett Inc. (GCI), Chief Executive Officer Craig Dubow will take an extended medical leave for a second round of back surgery, the Wall Street Journal reports.
According to Gannett spokeswoman Tara Connell, Dubow will likely be out for four months to address his persistent back problem.

However, she did say that he could return to work sooner than expected.
View the article here.

Hopkins to halt Gannett Blog

Jim Hopkins, founder of Gannett Blog, announced that he will cease the publication on Oct. 1.
The blog, which was founded in 2007 and chronicles stories about Gannett Co. and its employees, gained immerse popularity quickly after it was launched. Currently, its readers are projected to post more than 50,000 comments in a 12-month period.
But Hopkins says the tone of the blog has changed as employees fear for their jobs and worry over troubles in the newspaper industry.
And he added that Gannett Blog was intended only as a short-term project.
Hopkins plans to freeze the blog in October and leave all content up. He predicts and hopes another blogger will pick up where he left off.
From the blog:

"I intend to lock the blog in place, with all content and comments visible. No more comments will be allowed, nor removed. Basically, Gannett Blog will become a point-in-time snapshot of a Fortune 500 company in transition. I hope to find a permanent custodian for the content, in lieu of Google's Blogger division."

Tucson Citizen ceases its print publication Saturday

Arizona's oldest paper, the Tucson Citizen, will cease it's print publication after Saturday's edition.
The paper reports that the Citizen's Web site will continue, but will be modified as an opinion site, eliminating news and sports reporting.
Gannett, the company which owns the Citizen, searched for a buyer for the paper and for the last month employees waited for the results of negotiations.
Ultimately, no buyers were found.
Employees will be informed today if they will be laid off, kept on staff for a transitional basis or hired full time.
To read the full story click here.

USA Today names new publisher, editor

Gannett on Tuesday announced that it was appointing David Hunke as the new publisher for USA Today, a position filled by Craig Moon until April 17, according to Editor & Publisher.

Craig Dubow, Gannett chairman, president and chief executive officer, made the announcements at the company’s annual shareholders meeting.
“Dave is a highly talented, multi-faceted leader, who drives excellence throughout his organization while making the tough business decisions. At the same time, he has the courage to be innovative and take chances. He is just the right person for USA TODAY at this juncture,” Dubow said in a statement. “I am thrilled he will be joining my executive team.”

It was also announced that John Hillkirk would be promoted to the top editor position at USA Today from his previous role as executive editor.
To read more, click here.