When The NewsGuild-CWA launched its recent wave of walk-outs by journalists at dozens of newspapers owned by the massive Gannett chain, it put a spotlight on an obscure powerplayer in American media: Mike Reed.

He’s not a journalist, but a moneyman – CEO of the evolving global corporate entities that have controlled Gannett since 2005.

He is the financial “genius” who got an avaricious hedge fund group to make a disastrous $1.8 billion high-interest loan so Gannett could amass what is now America’s largest newspaper chain. To get the money needed to pay back those lenders, Mike has been hollowing out most of the once-proud newspapers Gannett took over – slashing salaries, gutting staffs, eliminating local coverage, plundering physical assets, and shutting down entire papers. For example, in the past decade:

* Gannett has cut half of its workforce, including eliminating 79% of its newsroom employees in Austin, 78% in Providence, 82% in Sarasota, 74% in South Bend, and 87% in Utica.

* Three of the chain’s dailies in Ohio are “ghost papers” meaning they have no reporters, editors, photographers, or other staff.

* Having decimated newsrooms, Gannett has replaced local news with cut & paste syndicated copy and corporate press releases. For example, since 2013, the number of local news reports have fallen 76% in Austin, 76 percent in Jacksonville, and 85% in Rochester.

* In the past year, Mike has responded to the demoralization and overwork of the chain’s remaining staff by cutting another 20% of journalism jobs, instituting unpaid furloughs, and suspending corporate payments to employee pension plans.

Meanwhile, Gannett’s stock price has plummeted by 70 percent since 2019, and it still owes $1.2 billion to those hedge fund slicks. Oh – and Mike’s own paycheck was $7.7 million in 2022, plus $3.4 million last year.

If you’re asked why News Guild members are protesting, there it is: All of the above.

Enjoyed this post? Please consider sharing with friends and on social media!

Jim Hightower's Lowdown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimhightower.substack.com/subscribe