Following outcry from some former Gannett journalists, chief content officer Kristin Roberts defended the company’s decision not to endorse a presidential candidate this year during an earnings call with investors Thursday.
“We are committed to becoming the leading digital news and content destination in America. To fully harness this potential, we have intentionally returned to our roots as a facts-forward, down-the-center survey of our nation,” Roberts said. “There is a significantly underserved audience seeking a viewpoint that reflects the middle majority, and we believe we are capturing this opportunity.”
The political journalism at Gannett and its more than 200 local papers has resonated with audiences, Roberts said. During its third quarter, which ended on Sept. 30, Gannett surpassed 200 million average monthly unique visitors for the first time in its history, up 7% from the same period last year. The company has had at least 1 billion page views for 14 consecutive months.
Though Gannett’s flagship paper USA Today endorsed President Joe Biden in 2020, the company encouraged its papers to stop endorsements in national races in 2022. The next year, Roberts joined Gannett and decided to officially end such endorsements, CNN reported.
Local papers still have the option of endorsing at the state or local level, Roberts said.
“We believe America’s future is decided locally, one race at a time,” Roberts said. “… Many have decided not to endorse individual candidates, but rather endorse key local and state issues on the ballot that impact the community. Our public service is to provide readers with the facts that matter and the trusted information they need to make informed decisions.”
Some former Gannett journalists have criticized the company for declining to endorse a presidential candidate this year. Former USA Today editor-in-chief Ken Paulson called the decision a “gag order on local journalism” in an opinion piece earlier this week.
READ MORE: Why newspaper presidential endorsements have become an endangered species
Roberts emphasized on the earnings call that the company made its decision on endorsements “more than a year ago.” In the past few weeks, several outlets — most notably The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times — have faced heavy pushback for pulling endorsements so close to the election. Those decisions have led to resignations and canceled subscriptions with the Post losing more than 250,000 subscribers and the Times losing more than 7,000.
During her content update on Thursday’s call, Roberts also highlighted the network’s coverage of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, during which Gannett papers set up texting services to communicate essential information to readers in disaster zones lacking Wi-Fi. The company has also been focusing on its sports coverage, which has seen high audience engagement, especially with stories about the Paris Olympics and the NFL.
“Our ambition is to become the nation’s dominant sports content organization,” Roberts said. “We believe sports continues to present a promising opportunity to expand our audience, create personalized and relevant experiences and develop journeys that are expected to maximize digital revenue per user and per visit.”
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