• by Ray Schultz , November 9, 2022

Maribel Perez Wadsworth is leaving her post as president of Gannett Media on Dec. 31, the company announced in a form 8-K SEC disclosure. 

Wadsworth served the company “with passion and conviction for more than 25 years,” the company said. She also was publisher of USA Today.  

There was no announcement of a replacement at deadline. But Poynter reports that Henry Faure Walker, president of Gannett’s United Kingdom subsidiary Newsquest, will succeed her on an interim basis.  

The news comes as Gannett faces daunting challenges. It suffered 10.3% decline in Q3 revenue YoY to $717.9 million, and a $54.1 million net loss, compared to $14.7 million net income in the same quarter in 2021.  Despite those losses, CEO Mike Reed claims the firm is stabilizing. 

The company is pursuing massive cost-cutting measures, most of them affecting employees. 

Gannett had laid off 400 newsroom employees and announced that it would also not be filling that many open positions.

In addition, Gannett suspended its 401(k) matches, and imposed a mandatory unpaid leave in December for five days. It also made a voluntary severance offer, which several editorial staffers have taken. 

“We continue to execute on $200 million to $240 million in annualized cost savings through the implementation of temporary and permanent actions that are expected to give us near-term flexibility and allow us to continue forward towards the Company's digital transformation," said CEO Mike Reed last week. 

On Friday, hundreds of Gannett union employees staged a walkout to protest the job cuts and other measures.