gannett

Gannett outfits newsroom with iPhones, iPads

USA Today's parent company Gannett has reportedly begun outfitting its news staff with thousands of iPhones and iPads in an attempt to create a mobile newsroom focused on real-time storytelling, social media integration, and a more video-centric approach to the news.

The report stems from a memo allegedly sent by U.S. Newspapers Division President Bob Dickey to employees on Wednesday, uncovered by the independently run Gannett Blog, which is tracking the company as well as the digital news transition.

In it we find a rare concession from the traditional news media that technology is changing the way people consume the news. "Readers' speedy adoption of new technology for news consumption creates new opportunities for us to uniquely serve them. To do so, we must ensure our journalists are equipped and trained on the tools to work in new ways."

And that means plenty of new iPhones and iPads.… Read more

As newspapers fade, Pulitzer embraces Web

The Pulitzer Prize Board is finally recognizing the obvious: if newsprint's highest journalism award wants to stay relevant it had better welcome the Web.

The Pulitzer board announced Monday that it will consider entries from online-only publications in addition to print outlets for the 14 journalism categories that once were prestigious but now few care about.

Any organization interested in submitting stories for Pulitzer consideration must publish at least once a week, be U.S.-based, and feature original reporting. Online or print magazines need not apply. The Pulitzers are for daily or weekly news organizations.

Why the change … Read more

Video service Mogulus reels in Gannett funding

Mogulus, a New York-based company that's part of the crowded pack of live-video streaming sites, has raised a new round of funding from news media conglomerate Gannett, publisher of USA Today and about two dozen other newspapers.

The two companies have had a partnership in place for the past three months, and the new investment is considered to be an extension of the partnership.

Financial terms were not formally disclosed, but a source close to the deal told us that--consistent with blog reports--the capital is about $10 million.

So far, Gannett's partnership with Mogulus has given the video … Read more

AOL to serve digital ads for 'USA Today' parent company

Gannett Co., which operates 23 television stations and 85 newspapers in the U.S. including USA Today, has signed on to AOL's Platform-A as its digital advertising partner. More specifically, it'll be using Platform-A's Adtech, marking the U.S. debut of the formerly Europe-only division.

When the deal has rolled out completely, it'll encompass all of Gannett's local news markets for both print and broadcast, USAToday.com, and other Web properties that the company owns. No target date was provided. But it's a big deal for AOL, considering the reach of USA Today as … Read more

Student newspaper considers corporate partner

While some may contend that the primary role of college newspapers is to prepare students for work in the establishment press, school newspapers also serve a vital role in keeping the community informed. In fact, college newspapers have broken stories on many occasions that resonated in the mainstream press. Some of these stories may have never seen the light of day if it weren't for the bold actions of determined college students and the newspapers these students control.

For students at Colorado State University, it appears the keys to their student-run paper, The Rocky Mountain Collegian, may soon be wrestled away and handed over to newspaper giant Gannett. According to a recent AP story, "Officials with The Coloradoan in Fort Collins met Tuesday with Colorado State University leaders to discuss a 'strategic partnership' to run the campus paper."

While it's unclear at this time what a strategic partnership would look like, this isn't the first time that Gannett has involved itself with a student newspaper. In August of 2006, a Gannett newspaper purchased FSView & Florida Flambeau, an independent publication that serves the student body at Florida State University. A year later, the University of Central Florida's newspaper was also sold to a Gannett publication. Unlike those instances, the Collegian is run by the university and, as The Student Newspaper Survival Blog points out, "if a deal goes through with Colorado State University, it would be the first time Gannett gets involved in a student paper that had been run by a public university."