Gannett Boss Doesn’t ‘Have Any Plans’ to Cut Newsroom Jobs at Tribune Papers, L.A. Times

“There’s a long history of terrific journalism. We share that value,” Gannett CEO Robert Dickey says

Gannett CEO Robert Dickey doesn’t “have any plans” to cut newsroom jobs at Tribune’s major newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times.

“It’s not lost on us that the L.A. Times just won a Pulitzer,” Dickey told Poynter in an interview published Wednesday. “There’s a long history of terrific journalism. We share that value.”

Still, he admitted it’s a hard question to answer until he has dialogue with the Tribune Board.

“The new Gannett is incredibly committed to continuing to build upon our ability to give our readers the best possible journalism in their local markets,” Dickey said.

The Los Angeles Times, The Baltimore Sun and the Chicago Tribune are two of the most important newspapers in America, and they would both change hands if a deal between Gannett and Tribune is eventually hammered out.

“By bringing the L.A. Times and Chicago Tribune and The Baltimore Sun, it will ultimately make our network even stronger,” Dickey said. “The benefit to them: They would be part of a network that has well over over 100 million monthly uniques.”

Gannett went public with an offer to buy Tribune Publishing for $815 million on Monday and Ferro and Dickey have been taking shots at each other ever since. Tribune Publishing chairman Michael Ferro recently said that Dickey is “trying to steal the company.”

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