Gannett, which operates USA Today and 92 daily newspapers across the country—including five in Louisiana—and the newly created USA Today Media Network began life as a publicly traded company on Monday. As USA Today reports, the move marks the start of an uncertain journey whose outcome largely will be determined by its ability to adapt to readers’ changing habits.
Led by CEO Robert Dickey, the McLean, Virginia-based company—whose holdings also include 17 dailies in the United Kingdom—plans to acquire more media assets in the U.S. to boost local advertising and marketing revenue. It also seeks to enhance coordination among journalists at its news outlets across the nation and place greater emphasis on social and mobile news distribution, according to executives and company memos.
“Together, we are moving forward as one unified organization with a commitment to strengthening and forging connections in every community that we serve,” says Dickey, who was president of the U.S. community publishing division of Gannett’s former parent, also called Gannett until it changed its name to TEGNA on Monday.
“Over the next year, we will continue to innovate and invest in this network, push the boundaries of storytelling and how it’s experienced and diversify our offerings,” he said in a statement.
TEGNA, which also began trading Monday under the ticker symbol TGNA, kept old Gannett’s broadcasting stations and digital businesses, including Cars.com and CareerBuilder.com.
In Louisiana, Gannett daily newspapers include The Town Talk in Alexandria; The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette; The News-Star in Monroe; Daily World in Opelousas; and The Times in Shreveport.
