Newspaper companies GateHouse Media and Gannett to merge in $1.4 billion deal

Newspapers owned by Gannett and GateHouse Media.
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Gannett, publisher of USA Today and one of the largest newspaper companies in the United States, is being acquired by GateHouse Media in a deal worth roughly $1.4 billion.

The merger will create the largest U.S. newspaper company, with a print circulation of 8.7 million, media expert Ken Doctor told The Associated Press on Monday. Combined, Gannett and GateHouse Media have more than 260 daily newspapers and more than 300 weeklies. GateHouse Media is owned by the New Media Investment Group, and said it will work on a digital transformation of its newspapers. The new company will operate under the Gannett name, and its headquarters will remain in McLean, Virginia.

Smaller newspapers across the country have been consolidating, due to the long and steep decline in print advertisements and circulation. A University of North Carolina study found that since 2004, nearly 1,800 local papers in the U.S. have shut down, and many others operate with just a few employees.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.