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.
and other cost-cutting measures to offset the falloff in advertising revenue. Gannett executives took a 25% pay reduction and Bascobert said on March 30 he would not take a salary until the furloughs and pay cuts ended.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.
"I expect continued pressure on the bottom line to result in further streamlining," DelGrande says. "Paul Bascobert’s strategy of 'going local' wasn’t misguided in my opinion, but COVID-19 ad cuts meant no time to implement to determine if that at least stems the losses."
$7.5M payout package for less than a year’s tenure. Typical for Gannett. Furlough and lay off news staff, but golden parachutes for the executives. Nothing has changed.