Economic Uptick News to Gannett: 1st Q. Furloughs Mandated

Image via WikipediaStaffers at 81 of media conglomerate Gannett Co.'s newspapers, excluding USA Today and The Detroit Free Press, will have to take an unpaid furlough during the First Quarter of 2011 as the newspaper industry continues to grapple with flat ad revenues and dwindling readership, according to Poynter.org's Romanesko media blog.

An internal memo sent to Gannett employees requires salaried employees to take leave for one payroll week, and non-union workers, five business days, before March 27. In a bad news, bad news scenario, staffers at the Hattiesburg American don't have to take a furlough. That's because they're going to have to endure a 6.5 percent pay cut.

Apparently, news that the recession is over and that the economy is recovering has been somewhat exaggerated.