Gannett has few journalists, but plenty of lawyers

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It was just a year ago that this space was used to question Gannett’s business plan for its newspapers in South Dakota. A declining amount of local news in the Gannett papers — the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, the Watertown Public Opinion and the Aberdeen American News — fostered an effort to change the laws regarding which newspapers are eligible to publish public notices from local governments.

That effort started with the South Dakota Newspaper Association changing its name and its bylaws to allow membership for internet-first news publications like South Dakota Searchlight, Sioux Falls Live and South Dakota News Watch. Membership was also offered to The Dakota Scout and Aberdeen Insider, which publish stories online as well as in printed newspapers.

With that change, the newly named South Dakota NewsMedia Association would no longer fight off attempts to change the criteria that determines which newspapers are eligible to publish public notices. With SDNA’s backing, in the 2024 session the Legislature changed the law, making The Dakota Scout and Aberdeen Insider eligible to publish public notices.

Gannett policies change the face of journalism in South Dakota

In June, the city of Sioux Falls chose The Dakota Scout as its official newspaper. Shortly after that, the Sioux Falls School District chose The Dakota Scout as well. In Aberdeen, the city has chosen Aberdeen Insider as its official newspaper.

The Argus Leader and Gannett have taken the city of Sioux Falls to court claiming the Argus should continue to be the city’s paper of record because The Dakota Scout did not file the proper paperwork with the Secretary of State’s Office before a statutory deadline.

State law requires newspapers to file a sworn statement of ownership before Jan. 1 each year. The Dakota Scout filed its paperwork on June 27. That seems reasonable since the new law didn’t go into effect until July 1 and had yet to be discussed in the Legislature prior to Jan. 1. It would take equal amounts of clairvoyance and hubris for The Dakota Scout to file ownership paperwork for a law that did not yet exist.

It’s sad to note that the Gannett disinterest in publishing local news that prompted the new rules about the publication of public notices still exists today. A look at seven day’s worth of Gannett publications in late June and early July revealed the same lack of local news that was apparent last July.

In that seven-day period, the Watertown Public Opinion had one story about a local traffic accident attributed to a “staff report” and a shared story from the Argus Leader. The Public Opinion’s saving grace is that it has held on to a lone sports reporter who keeps that section vital. In those seven days, the Aberdeen American News shared an Argus Leader story, but had no other local news on its front page or inside pages.

The Argus Leader has some news staffers, which allows for a greater effort. In that seven-day period it had local stories on the front page every day as well as shorter local stories inside. A year ago, there was some sports coverage in the Argus Leader. For this seven-day period there was no local sports coverage.

Obviously, not much has changed for Gannett in its South Dakota publications. Since its purchase by Gatehouse Media in 2019, the company, which publishes USA Today and more than 200 daily newspapers, has been awash in so much debt that it has been forced to drastically cut its news staffs. Consequently, local reporting has suffered or disappeared, leaving the company in a landscape where startup publications are preferred by local governments as the best place to publish public notices.

Like any other business that does not fulfill its obligations, these Gannett newspapers are finding readers and advertisers turning away. It’s only logical that local governments would follow suit with their public notices.

The Legislature sets the laws that determine which newspapers are eligible to publish public notices. However, an unwritten covenant says that newspapers earn their revenue — whether from subscribers, advertisers or public notices — through fulfilling their duty to provide local news. Gannett has broken that covenant.

Maybe Gannett will be successful in court and manage to pry the city’s public notices away from The Dakota Scout. No matter how the court case plays out, it will still be apparent to anyone who can read that Gannett has already lost in the court of public opinion.

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The post Gannett has few journalists, but plenty of lawyers appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight .