Gannett 'set to show depth of industry's decline'

The company reports first-quarter financial results on Thursday, kicking off what's expected to be the industry's ugliest quarter in recent memory, The Wall Street Journal says today.

"Gannett has made some drastic cost-cutting moves at its newspapers to keep costs in line with dwindling revenue," the story says, "including multiple rounds of job cuts and two furlough programs forcing employees to take unpaid leave. More changes could be in store, particularly as the outlook worsens for its flagship paper."

The story continues: "USA Today, which until recently had been somewhat insulated from the worst of the industry slump, has begun to take its lumps. Gannett executives recently projected a drop of as much as 35% in first-quarter ad revenue from a year earlier. And when the Audit Bureau of Circulations releases its numbers for the six-month period ended in March, the national daily's circulation is set to fall by about 100,000 just from lower occupancy in hotels, which account for more than half of its 2.3 million circulation. Circulation is likely to take another hit in June, when Marriott International Inc. will start delivering papers at many of its hotels based on customer preference. The switch, expected to be announced Monday, will cut distribution by about 50,000 daily copies and mostly affect circulation at USA Today and The Wall Street Journal."

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[Today's front page, Newseum]