The Evolving Newsroom

Crikey.

The Gannett Company, which has papers in the UK and publishes USA Today and a host of smaller papers in the US, has told staff they must take a week off without pay as part of efforts to avoid layoffs.

From the New York Times:

The nation’s largest newspaper publisher said on Wednesday that it would force thousands of its employees to take a week off without pay in an effort to avoid layoffs.

Gannett, which owns 85 daily newspapers across the United States including its flagship USA Today, said it could not say exactly how many people would be required to take time off, or how much money the company would save. But it said it would require unpaid leave for most of its 31,000 employees in this country.

Also on Wednesday, USA Today notified its staff of a one-year pay freeze for all employees.

“Most of our U.S. employees — including myself and all other top executives — will be furloughed for the equivalent of one week in the first quarter,” Craig A. Dubow, the chairman, president and chief executive, wrote in a memorandum to employees.

“We sincerely hope this minimizes the need for any layoffs going forward,” he added.

Jim Hopkins, who runs Gannett Blog, which tracks what’s happening at Gannett, ran a memo from newspaper division chief Bob , who said this:

With your help and commitment, we have continued publishing quality products and populating Web sites daily. We are innovating and growing our digital businesses. We are working to emerge from this downturn with new energy and new solutions for our customers. Due to our financial management, Gannett remains an industry leader.

Unfortunately, the advertising environment is still difficult and the economic issues unprecedented. We must take additional steps even as we focus on growing our local readership and market share revenues.

As a result of your feedback, and in an effort to minimize the need for more layoffs, I have decided to take another approach as we enter 2009. To that end, every non-represented employee in the USCP division will be furloughed for five business days during this quarter. That includes me, your publisher, everyone. Unions will be asked to accept furloughs in lieu of layoffs. We all will be sharing the financial hardship.

To be clear, a furlough means you will not work and will not be paid for furlough days.

Editor and Publisher ran this story. Here’s a few paragraphs:

The standard answer for both Gannett newspaper employees and managers is “it is better than job cuts.”

But the announcement Wednesday that most all Gannett employees will be forced to take a week off without pay during the first quarter of 2009 is still hard to take, according to those at the various affected newspapers.

Coming off a recent salary freeze and a 10% workforce cut in late 2008, finding out each employee will lose a week of pay this year — and be unavailable for work — is another hit to take.

“People are concerned, but it is certainly better than layoffs,” said John Kridelbaugh, vice president of market development and digital at The Indianapolis Star. “We are working through the details and all of the business needs so we can continue to still put out a newspaper and a 24-hour Web site.”