That probably should be the message GateHouse Media officials sent to employees when it announced the merger between the company and Gannett, but for some reason those words were not included in the message.
The following message was sent to GateHouse employees Monday and published by the Poynter Institute:
TO: All GateHouse Media/BridgeTower Media Employees
FROM: Mike Reed and Kirk Davis
DATE: August 5, 2019
SUBJECT: New Media acquisition of Gannett
We are excited to announce today that New Media Investment Group Inc., the public company parent of GateHouse Media, has signed an agreement to purchase Gannett, Co., Inc.
Following closing, both the public and operating companies will be called Gannett. Mike Reed will serve as Chairman and CEO of the combined public company.
Prior to closing, Kirk Davis will continue as COO of New Media and CEO of GateHouse, and will work closely with Mike to create the management and integration plan for the combined company as we work to seek regulatory approvals and close the transaction.
Gannett’s newly named CEO, Paul Bascobert, will become CEO of the operating company upon closing.
We are incredibly proud of this team’s commitment to high-quality journalism and community leadership; this mission will remain at our core.
The Gannett acquisition positions us as the leader in community journalism in the United States. In addition, we believe that together, we are well-positioned to address the profound changes our industry has faced in media consumption habits and advertising spend.
Gannett brings a long and storied history of creating award-winning content across its more than 100 local brands, including The Arizona Republic, the Detroit Free Press, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Gannett brings a long and storied history of creating award-winning content across its more than 100 local brands, including The Arizona Republic, the Detroit Free Press, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Like GateHouse, Gannett is committed to journalism with impact; its news teams have recently been recognized nationally with prestigious George Polk and Scripps Howard awards, as well as several Edward R. Murrow awards for broadcast and digital journalism.
In 2018, Gannett received three Pulitzers – for explanatory journalism, local reporting and editorial writing. USA TODAY, the company’s national news brand, has been an industry innovator since its 1982 launch. Together, the company’s local and national brands reach more than 125M readers across digital platforms each month.
The combined scale of our trusted brands creates a major national platform; our company will become a top five digital media player, as measured by ComScore. And, we will have access to the revenue diversification investments and best practices of each company to accelerate our transition to a sustainable product and revenue model.
The combined scale of our trusted brands creates a major national platform; our company will become a top five digital media player, as measured by ComScore. And, we will have access to the revenue diversification investments and best practices of each company to accelerate our transition to a sustainable product and revenue model.
As examples, the combined strength of the ReachLocal, Wordstream and UpCurve technology and Google relationships will solidify our position as a significant SMB partner, affording opportunities for education, support and further growth. GateHouse Live will be able to accelerate its growth through the combined company’s expanded market reach and Gannett, named one of the most innovative companies in AR/VR by Fast Company, can share its expertise with us.
This transaction is subject to regulatory review, which we anticipate will take several months. While there are legal restrictions on what we can plan for and discuss during this period, we will do our best to provide you with regular updates on the process.
Shortly, you will receive an invitation to an all-employee call for later today, August 5th, at 1pm ET. We hope you will join us!
We are excited to leverage the combined strength and resources of GateHouse and Gannett!
Thanks,
Mike & Kirk
This transaction is subject to regulatory review, which we anticipate will take several months. While there are legal restrictions on what we can plan for and discuss during this period, we will do our best to provide you with regular updates on the process.
Shortly, you will receive an invitation to an all-employee call for later today, August 5th, at 1pm ET. We hope you will join us!
We are excited to leverage the combined strength and resources of GateHouse and Gannett!
Thanks,
Mike & Kirk
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