Oh, No! Gal Reporter Brenda Starr Has Been Put on Furlough!

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The newspaper business is tough all over. Things are so bad that even comic strip heroine Brenda Starr—that feisty gal reporter—will be put on furlough this week. [Click for MORE] Sphere: Related Content

Gannett Imposes Another Round of Furloughs

Gannett Co. is forcing most of its U.S. employees to take another week of unpaid leave this year as the largest U.S. newspaper publisher prepares for its rapidly sinking advertising revenue to extend its slide during the second quarter.

The furloughs spelled out Monday in a company memo must be taken before July and are designed to spread the pain through Gannett without the need for further layoffs.

The McLean, Virginia-based company jettisoned about 4,000 jobs, or about 10 percent of its work force, last year to survive a slump that has seen more than $1.1 billion in annual advertising revenue evaporate since 2006. [Click for MORE]

• Gannett plans more furloughs to cut costs-memo
• Continuous updates from Gannett Blog
  

Elsewhere:

• Newhouse's Ann Arbor News to close in July; new company to publish online
  
• 4 Michigan Papers to Cut Back on Print
• Ann Arbor News to Cease Publication
• Tucson Citizen to publish at least 1 more week
• Seattle Times agrees to help with SeattlePI.com launch
  
• Big newsprint firm may have to declare bankruptcy
• El Nuevo Herald editor resigns rather than make mandated cuts
• Forget newspapers' local-local: Think location, location, location
• Star Tribune's post-bankruptcy operating loss: $1.8 million
• Denver Post's business arm lays off 40; plans 200 job cuts
• MediaNews asks S&P to drop credit ratings after downgrade
• One banker's plan to save the newspaper industry
• Copley family exits newspapers completely -- with sale of weekly
  
• Daily Mail Publisher to Cut More Jobs
  

And:

• 2009 papercuts: 6,169+ jobs

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Gannett Blog: Everyone at Gannett Put on One-Week Furlough

USA Today Content to Replace AP News

A memo just released by CEO Craig Dubow, confirming recent speculation that Gannett will require about 35,000 U.S. workers to take a week off without pay in this quarter. There's now an FAQ. Plus, newspaper division chief Bob Dickey has issued a memo, too. [Click for MORE]

In a fresh sign of its worsening finances, the nation's biggest newspaper publisher is quietly testing a new service that it expects will replace the Associated Press at its 84 U.S. newspapers, a memo obtained by Gannett Blog says. [Click for MORE]

USA Today won't give pay raises in 2009. That's from a memo Publisher Craig Moon reportedly just sent to the No. 1 circulation newspaper's employees, regarding Gannett's announcement that about 35,000 U.S. workers will be required to take a week off without pay during the current quarter. USAT's move is effective Feb. 1. "This includes me, your department head -- everyone,'' Moon says.

Gannett rolls out ContentOne as a prepackaged national news web page for all Gannett community newspapers. The first test page covers the Inauguration of Barack Obama. [Click for MORE] Sphere: Related Content