Earlier this week the Gannett Company announced it would be splitting its broadcast and newspaper division, which includes USA Today. Other companies such as News Corporation, Time Warner and Tribune Company have made similar moves lately, an indicator that media companies continue to struggle with the changing digital landscape.
More individuals abandon traditional print media every day, which means that there’s a serious profit gap when it comes to broadcast and newspaper divisions. In this latest split, Gannet’s publishing side of the business will keep its namesake, while the digital side will adopt a new one. Both will remain headquartered in McLean, Virginia and trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
Robert J. Dickey, the current president of Gannett’s US Community Publishing division, will become chief executive of the publishing company, while Gracia Martore, current CEO of Gannett, will serve as CEO for both broadcast and digital.
“It is a bittersweet moment for me because I love both of these businesses,” Gracia Martore said in an interview. “It was not a simple decision to be the CEO that spins out our publishing business. But what I had to look at, in the future, was, ‘What is the right structure for this company going forward?’ And the board and I concluded that the right structure at this moment in time is to spin out the publishing business.”
The separation is expected to be complete by mid-2015.
