Gannett eliminates CEO position for operating company

Paul Bascobert will leave company

Published June 19, 2020 by Sydney Lake

McLean-based Gannett Co. Inc., the nation’s largest newspaper publisher, announced Friday that its board of directors has decided to eliminate the CEO position for Gannett Media Corp., its operating company. The decision results in the departure of Paul Bascobert, who had joined the company in August 2019.

Gannett Chairman and CEO Michael Reed has assumed Bascobert’s responsibilities. The board does not intend to look to fill the role of Gannett Media CEO.

“Mr. Bascobert’s departure is not the result of any inappropriate action by Mr. Bascobert, any violation of company policy, any accounting irregularity or any material deterioration in the business of the company,” Gannett said in a statement.

“Paul made a significant impact, helping to integrate the two companies, navigate through this current pandemic and lay the groundwork for our revenue transformation,” Reed said in a statement. “The Board remains committed to our plans for continued integration and transformation.”

Gannett, the nation’s largest newspaper publisher, announced in early April that it was negotiating with its vendors, creditors and pension regulators in order to preserve the company’s liquidity. It was noticeably not on the Fortune 1000 list released in mid-May.

The company also announced mass layoffs, furlough and pay cuts in late March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the owner of USA Today, Gannett has a portfolio of 261 local daily newspapers in 46 states and Guam, including the Arizona Republic, the Des Moines Register and the Burlington Free Press.