This week, the Pulitzer Prize Board has been meeting to finalize selections for this year’s prizes, which are scheduled to be announced on Monday. The Pulitzer Prizes are based at Columbia University in New York City.
The backdrop for all this is what is happening on and around Columbia’s campus, with pro-Palestinian protests and more than 100 people being arrested.
On Thursday, the Pulitzer Prize Board put out a statement, recognizing the work of student journalists, not only at Columbia but across the country.
The Board’s statement read:
“As we gather to consider the nation’s finest and most courageous journalism, the Pulitzer Prize Board would like to recognize the tireless efforts of student journalists across our nation’s college campuses, who are covering protests and unrest in the face of great personal and academic risk. We would also like to acknowledge the extraordinary real-time reporting of student journalists at Columbia University, where the Pulitzer Prizes are housed, as the New York Police Department was called onto campus on Tuesday night. In the spirit of press freedom, these students worked to document a major national news event under difficult and dangerous circumstances and at risk of arrest.”
On this topic, check out The Associated Press’ David Bauder and Christine Fernando with “Student journalists are covering their own campuses in convulsion. Here’s what they have to say.”
Correction
I did want to mention that in Thursday’s newsletter, I misspelled the word “Palestinian” when writing about pro-Palestinian protests. I apologize for that error.
Gannett and Lee execs highlight digital growth amid multi-million dollar losses
For this item, I turn it over to my Poynter colleague Angela Fu.
Executives at Gannett and Lee Enterprises, two of the country’s largest newspaper chains, touted improvements in digital revenue Thursday even as their companies reported multimillion-dollar losses.
Gannett ended its most recent quarter with an $84.8 million loss, a figure that includes a $46 million impairment charge resulting from its decision to move out of its headquarters in McLean, Virginia. Total revenues amounted to $635.8 million, a decrease of 5% compared to the same period last year, but an improvement from the previous quarter. CEO Mike Reed said he expects to end the year with total revenues increasing over the prior year, thanks in part to digital growth.
“We continue to serve an engaged digital audience with 187 million average monthly unique visitors in the first quarter and page views growing more than 10% over the prior year,” Reed said during an earnings call Thursday. “We believe this growing audience and increased engagement offers us great potential for diversified, predictable and repeatable digital revenue growth.
Digital revenue grew 8.1% from the same period last year to $267.5 million. It now makes up 42.1% of Gannett’s total revenue. Both digital-only subscription revenue and digital advertising revenue grew year-over-year, and Gannett now has more than 2 million digital paid subscribers.
Gannett chief content officer Kristin Roberts said during the earnings call that her focus this year is improving audience engagement. Areas Gannett is prioritizing include entertainment and successful verticals like sports. In response to an investor’s question, Roberts revealed that Gannett has more than doubled its sports audience compared with a year ago, and the sports vertical now serves monthly, on average, 50 million unique visitors. Other priorities for the year include video production and election coverage, which will shift away from horse race coverage to voter guides and election education.
“We’re also making a strategic shift into video, which not only catches the audience where they are, but is expected to allow us to further grow our diversified digital revenue streams,” Roberts said. “One way we’re leveraging this opportunity is by bringing together our content monetization and video teams. The creation of a unified video team is expected to enhance our position to reach new audiences and improve our video monetization through expanded, locally relevant content.”
Roberts did not mention the company’s “I-30 Initiative” — a plan to restaff smaller papers in 30 of Gannett’s markets — during the Thursday earnings call. She had publicized the project during a February earnings call, but the company has quietly paused the initiative.
Gannett executives said Thursday they expect digital revenue to grow approximately 10% this year and eventually make up 50% of total revenues in 2025. After several years of losses, the company expects to post a profit by 2026.
Lee Enterprises also announced the results of its most recent quarter Thursday, revealing it had suffered a $11.6 million loss on revenues of $147 million. Declines in total operating revenue, largely driven by print, were offset somewhat by growth in digital revenue. Digital revenue grew 11% year-over-year to $71 million.
Like Gannett, Lee is pinning its revenue strategy on digital growth. Digital revenue makes up 48% of Lee’s total operating revenue, and the company expects that figure to surpass 50% next quarter. Lee now has more than 745,000 digital subscribers, up 25% compared to the prior year.
“Our focus is on expanding our digital audiences, growing our digital subscriber base in revenue and diversifying or expanding our offerings for local advertisers,” CEO Kevin Mowbray said during an earnings call Thursday. “The long-term results of our strategy are expected to generate more than $450 million of recurring, sustainable digital revenue within five years.”
Last year, Lee, which owns more than 70 dailies, reduced print days at the majority of its papers. That decision improved cash flow, said chief financial officer and vice president Timothy Millage, but had an “outsized impact” on print advertising. Nevertheless, Lee is prioritizing digital and recently hired Les Ottolenghi as its chief transformation and commercial officer. His work will include “developing and directing accelerators to (Lee’s) digital transformation in the areas of artificial intelligence, IT monetization, cybersecurity and data monetization,” Millage said.
Gannett stock was trading at $3.06 a share Thursday afternoon, up nearly 27% from Wednesday’s close. Meanwhile, Lee stock was trading at $12.50 a share, up 2.38% from Wednesday.
Revealing details
ABC “Good Morning America” co-host Robin Roberts had a superb interview with WNBA star Brittney Griner that aired in a one-hour special, with clips on various ABC News shows. Griner talked about her time imprisoned in Russia and said she considered taking her own life.
“I wanted to take my life more than once in the first weeks,” Griner told Roberts. “I felt like leaving here so badly.”
Griner said she decided against ending her life because she was worried Russian authorities wouldn’t release her body to her family.
Griner, who was playing professionally in Russia, was arrested at a Moscow airport in February 2022 for possessing vape cartridges containing cannabis oil. This happened only days before Russia invaded Ukraine. Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison, but was released in a prisoner swap on December 8, 2022.
Griner told Roberts that before she was released, she was forced to ask Russian President Vladimir Putin for forgiveness.
Griner said, “They made me write this letter. It was in Russian. I had to ask for forgiveness and thanks from their so-called great leader. I didn’t want to do it, but at the same time I wanted to come home.”
Griner also said she was disappointed that another American being detained, businessman Paul Whelan, wasn’t released with her.
And now for other media news, tidbits and interesting links for your weekend review …
- The Washington Post’s Laura Wagner with “In campus protests, students are wary of the media.”
- CNN’s Oliver Darcy with “ABC News president Kim Godwin in hot water as Disney-appointed boss conducts review.”
- The Daily Beast’s Justin Baragona with “Morning Joe Scolds ‘Stupid’ MSNBC Viewers Who Back Campus Protests.”
- Also from Justin Baragona: “Inside the ‘Screaming Match’ That Ended GMA Weatherman Rob Marciano’s Career.”
- The New Yorker’s Clare Malone with “Is Hunterbrook Media a News Outlet or a Hedge Fund?”
- The Washington Post’s Ben Strauss with “Stephen A. Smith would like even more of your attention.”
- The Wall Street Journal’s Katherine Clarke with “‘Done’ With New York, Fox News Star Sean Hannity Lists Long Island Estate for $13.75 Million.”
- For The Ringer, Steffi Cao with “All Internet Roads Lead Back to 2014.”
- The New York Times’ Joe Drape and Melissa Hoppert with “As Kentucky Derby Nears, Last Year’s Deaths Cast Long Shadow.”
Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.
More resources for journalists
- Reporting on the Rise of AI: A RAND-Poynter Masterclass
- June’s Lead with Influence is for women and nonbinary leaders to develop their political clout.
- Subscribe to Poynter’s Friday newsletter, Open Tabs with Poynter managing editor Ren LaForme, and get behind-the-scenes stories only available to subscribers.
- Understand U.S. Immigration From the Border to the Heartland — Start any time.
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