What They Did
Gannett (now rebranded as USA Today Company) is the largest newspaper chain in the United States, owning USA Today and hundreds of local newspapers across 46 states. At its peak, Gannett was a dominant force in American journalism, employing thousands of reporters covering local and national news.
How LLMs Killed Them
Gannett is being squeezed from both sides by AI. On the revenue side, Google's AI Overviews and AI search tools are siphoning away the search traffic that local news sites depend on for ad revenue. On the cost side, Gannett has embraced AI-driven automation to cut expenses -- its CFO explicitly stated the company is "tapping into AI-driven automation across workflows and back office processes." The company was also caught using automation to create fake journalist profiles and clickbait content without disclosure, leading to an AI scandal and the closure of its Wirecutter-style product review site.
Timeline
- 2020-2023: Workforce shrank 47% due to layoffs and attrition (per NewsGuild).
- 2024: Revenue fell to $2.51 billion, down from $3.21 billion in 2021.
- September 2024: AI scandal exposed -- Gannett used automation to create fake journalists and lazy clickbait. Closed its review website.
- 2024: CFO announced plans for AI-driven automation "to unlock an additional layer of operational efficiency."
- 2025: Announced $100 million in further cuts. Licensed content to Perplexity AI.
- May 2025: Filed WARN Act notice in Michigan for additional layoffs through January 2026.
By the Numbers
- Revenue declined from $3.21B (2021) to $2.51B (2024)
- Workforce shrank 47% between 2020 and 2023
- $100 million in additional cuts announced for 2025
- Caught creating fake journalist profiles using AI automation
- Renamed itself USA Today Company amid rebranding