Gannett reported a disappointing first quarter this week. While acquisitions led to some revenue growth, print advertising was down 17.7 percent compared to Q1 2016 and circulation revenues were down 8 percent. Despite a 3.7 percent growth in digital advertising, total revenues were down 10.7 percent.
Although Gannett made money on a cash flow basis, it posted a slight loss for the quarter of $2.1 million on revenues of $773.4 million. CEO Bob Dickey says Q2 ad revenues are showing some signs of recovery during a conference call.
Gannett continues to make staff reductions at some of its properties, and several of its smaller dailies have now shifted to a three-day-a-week schedule. Having acquired a a number of local organizations over the past year, Gannett now owns 109 newspapers plus USA Today