On Aug. 5, GateHouse—a New York-based chain backed by an investment firm—announced a deal to buy Gannett for $1.4 billion.
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Efficiencies wrought by the merger might result in publications that rely less on local reporters and more on USA Today-type stories produced or edited remotely and published in dozens of the company’s publications.
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The Wall Street Journal reports that a deal could be announced in the coming weeks. Gannett owns The Indianapolis Star and a number of smaller Indiana newspapers.
Read MoreThe country’s leading newspaper union issued a scathing analysis of the proposed Gannett-GateHouse merger Friday, saying the deal would drive down wages and employment for journalists at hundreds of newspapers. The merger will affect a dozen newspapers in Indiana.
The vote, completed at Gannett’s annual meeting, amounted to a rejection—possibly the final one—of Alden’s attempt to acquire Gannett through a hostile takeover launched in January by its Media News Group unit.
Varvel will contribute a cartoon twice a month to IBJ’s op-ed pages. He joins Shane Johnson, who has been an IBJ editorial cartoonist for seven years and will continue as a regular cartoonist for the publication.
Marisa Kwiatkowski was one of three Star journalists whose series on the sexual abuse of gymnasts led to a national outcry on the topic and a guilty verdict against Dr. Larry Nassar.
Gannett Co. said Monday that its board determined the unsolicited offer from a hedge-fund backed media group undervalued the company and wasn’t in the best interests of shareholders.
The Indianapolis Star eliminated at least three newsroom employees Wednesday and dropped at least two business columnists.
Alden Global, which is taking aim at the Gannett newspaper chain, is run by a hedge fund exec known in some circles as “the Gordon Gekko of newspapers.”
Gannett's board said it will "carefully review the proposal," which values the company at $12 a share, a 23 percent premium to Gannett’s closing price on Friday.
Among the longtime newsroom employees who accepted buyout packages were well-known names in the local newspaper field, including editorial cartoonist Gary Varvel and writer Will Higgins.
Matthew Tully, 49, had worked for the Indianapolis Star since 2002, writing nearly 2,000 columns over that time. The Gary native died Monday night.
An editorial cartoon published Sunday by The Indianapolis Star that mocks Christine Blasey Ford drew a flood of complaints on social media Monday, prompting an explanation from the newspaper.
A source told IBJ on Tuesday that Kravitz had been laid off with several others at the top-rated local TV station.
Local and national reporters clamored for interviews with Mayor Joe Hogsett about Indianapolis’ chances, but city officials largely kept quiet while forwarding media to the Indy Chamber and influencing messaging behind the scenes.
Jeff Taylor replaced Dennis Ryerson as editor of the Star in 2012 after serving as senior managing editor at the Detroit Free Press.
The Indianapolis Star is asking its subscribers to absorb hefty rate increases—a move that reflects the pressure the newspaper industry is under to find ways to offset declines in advertising.
IBJ won honors at the Society of Professional Journalists’ Best in Indiana contest for coverage of Salesforce, elections, arts, the airport and more.
The Indianapolis NewsGuild, which represents newsroom and custodial employees at The Star, said Gannett management is threatening to eliminate five journalists if the guild does not go along with the company’s recent decision to outsource The Star’s copy editors.
The giant media firm’s target was elusive from the beginning. It revealed in the spring that it was offering $388 million for the Chicago company, which it said refused to partake in “constructive discussions.”
The Star is seeking to eliminate the paper’s copy desk and move those duties to Louisville. But the newsroom’s union plans to fight to keep the jobs in Indianapolis.
Curt Cavin is leaving The Indianapolis Star after three decades with the newspaper to become vice president of communications for the IndyCar Series.