The publisher of USA Today, The St. Cloud Times and other newspapers is rejecting a $1.36 billion buyout from a hedge-fund backed media group with a history of taking over newspapers and slashing jobs.
Gannett Co. reported a 12 percent decline in its fourth-quarter net income Monday, largely because of restructuring expenses and a tax benefit that boosted the previous year's results. But revenue increased 9 percent thanks to robust political advertising, increasing digital subscriptions and an extra week in the quarter.
Employees at Gannett's local newspapers, including the St. Cloud Times, will have to take a week off without pay during the first quarter. For now the furloughs will only apply to non-union workers.