MNGs Interests Are Not Aligned with Those of Other Shareholders and MNGs False and Misleading Statements Seek Only to Advance Its
Interests, Not Those of All Shareholders Contrary to MNGs claims, MNG has
NOT demonstrated an ability to position acquired newspapers for long-term profitability. It has been widely documented that MNG has drastically reduced jobs at its newspapers, thereby undercutting the papers ability to produce quality
journalism and retain subscribers. Once subscribership falls due to lack of meaningful content, MNG responds with yet more cost cuts, and in some cases, closures of the papers all together.
In addition to MNGs baseless claims of having executed revivals of print newspapers, MNG
is intentionally misleading shareholders in its calculations of Gannetts performance and the illusory premium it offers shareholders. Even after Gannett clearly identified flaws in MNGs calculations, MNG continues to make the same
claims: MNG compares
Gannetts 2018 results to a time when Gannett was not even a standalone company and ignores that the companys digital marketing solutions business was built beginning in the second half of 2016, with its contribution to performance only
being reflected thereafter. MNG
compares Gannetts performance to companies outside its industry peer group and arbitrarily compares the premium of its illusory proposal not to Gannetts unaffected stock price (as would be customary) but instead to the lowest
closing price for Gannetts shares in its entire 52-week range, taking advantage of the sharp decline the entire stock market experienced in December 2018.
Gannetts Nominees Are Committed to Acting in the Best Interests of
All Gannett Shareholders Your board and management team are executing a
multi-year transformation strategy to position Gannett to thrive in a digital future. We are the first to acknowledge that transformations are hard and take time, and that we have more work to do. That said, we are confident that the steps we have
taken and are continuing to take provide the best path forward for our company to deliver value in the near term. Our focused strategy to enhance Gannetts growth and profitability is centered around:
Leveraging our nationwide scale and local presence to expand and deepen our relationships with consumers and businesses;
Accelerating organic digital revenue growth through innovative consumer experiences and new marketing and advertising solutions;
Pursuing accretive growth through disciplined, selective acquisitions that provide synergies with our customer base and markets; and
Aligning costs within our legacy print business in a thoughtful and strategic manner.
The financial results our strategic initiatives have delivered to date reflect our progress and the potential for Gannetts digital investments to serve as a
growth engine for many years into the future. In 2018 alone, Gannett:
Grew digital subscribers by 46%, bringing total paid digital-only subscribers to over 500,000.
Grew ReachLocal revenues by 15%.
Grew national digital advertising revenue by 19%, with 75% of USA TODAYs advertising revenue now digital. |