Media

Gannett closing local newsrooms in latest cost-cutting measure

Six of Gannett's Massachusetts newspapers — including the Patriot Ledger and the Brockton Enterprise — have ditched the newsroom as the industry moves toward remote work.

Gannett weeklys. Photo by Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

March 17, 2024

Weeks after Gannett acquired its local predecessor GateHouse Media, country’s largest newspaper company began laying off journalists across the country, including in Brockton and Providence. Then, almost 20 weekly newspapers across Massachusetts ceased publication while the rest merged into four digital presences.

Now, Gannett is no longer investing in in-person newsrooms.

The Patriot Ledger — a South Shore paper with 11 staff members — is one of Gannett’s most robust operations in Massachusetts. They are also the latest to ditch a newsroom and work completely remotely, The Boston Globe reported last month.

“We’re embracing our flexible working model by investing more in our people and technology — rather than real estate,” Gannett said in a statement. “We remain firmly committed to the sustainable future of local journalism and the communities we serve as we adapt to a progressively digital world.”

Gannett still pays for physical newsrooms for their biggest daily papers in Massachusetts, the Cape Cod Times and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. They said in a statement that two other daily papers still have access to an office: The Gardner News and The New Bedford Standard-Times. They each have fewer than ten employees.

Last year, the Telegram & Gazette consolidated their newsroom to adapt to a hybrid workplace.

“Some of our journalists come into the office every day, while others prefer to work remotely most of the time,” Michael McDermott, Worcester’s executive editor, wrote.

That leaves the Milford Daily News, MetroWest Daily News, The Brockton Enterprise, The Fall River Herald News, and the Taunton Daily Gazette working without newsrooms, along with the The Patriot Ledger. While most papers across the industry have adopted a hybrid work schedule, most of these daily papers began working remotely due to the pandemic and never went back.

Gannett reporters contacted for this story declined to comment but confirmed that their newsrooms are fully remote without a physical workplace. Some papers had newsrooms, but they went largely unused, reporters said.

Local newsrooms other than Gannett’s are open

The Eagle Tribune, The Salem News, The Daily News of Newburyport, and the Gloucester Daily Times are all owned by North of Boston Media Group. In a statement, they confirmed the newsrooms are open and operating after working remotely during the peak of COVID.

Boston.com and The Boston Globe, which are both owned by Boston Globe Media Partners, use a hybrid work schedule with mandatory in-person days at their downtown office.

The Attleboro Sun Chronicle, owned by a Vancouver-based company since 2018, still has their newsroom where they also print their daily paper. Executive Editor Craig Borges said an in-person newsroom doesn’t necessarily keep their paper alive.

Borges said Gannett’s move to phase out newsrooms isn’t the worst idea — the reporters at the Sun Chronicle mostly come and go. He said if The Sun Chronicle didn’t print at their location, they would close the newsroom.

“Having a physical newsroom shouldn’t affect the news,” he said. “I’m not a religious man, but are you more religious if there’s a church?”

Instead, he blamed the content. Most Gannett papers in the region — which have subscription fees — only have a few local stories in their papers. Readers can’t be convinced to pay subscription fees for lackluster local coverage, mostly due to journalists spread too thin after cuts, he said.

“For Gannett, what’s affecting news coverage is they don’t invest in journalism, because they’ve overspent and they own too many properties and they’re a mess,” Borges said. “They’ve ruined really good newspapers as a result.”