Newsroom jobs eliminated at Free Lance-Star, News & Advance
Two more Virginia newspapers — The Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg and The News & Advance in Lynchburg — have dismissed employees, following newsroom layoffs last week at three other publications owned by Lee Enterprises. Two editors, a page designer and two circulation clerks have been laid off at The News & Advance. Their jobs were […]
Richmond Times-Dispatch, Roanoke Times, Daily Progress see newsroom layoffs
Updated Sept. 11 At least five newsroom staffers at the Richmond Times-Dispatch were told Friday that they were being laid off by owner Lee Enterprises. Four people laid off were part of the bargaining unit for the Richmond Newspapers Professional Association, the Times-Dispatch’s newsroom union, a representative confirmed. They include a business reporter, a photojournalist, […]
Tegna raises $550M in debt financing
Tysons-based broadcast and digital media company Tegna Inc. announced Thursday it has raised $550 million in debt financing, which will go to pay outstanding debt. “With this successful offering, Tegna has reduced our overall average borrowing costs and locked in a lower fixed interest rate as we did earlier this year, further strengthening our balance […]
Tegna names its first chief diversity officer
Tysons-based broadcast and digital media company Tegna Inc. announced Thursday it has promoted Grady Tripp to become the company’s first chief diversity officer. Tripp has been with the company since 2017 on the talent acquisition team. In his new role, he will report directly to Tegna President and CEO Dave Lougee and partner with other […]
Media
FRANK BATTEN JR. CHAIRMAN, DOMINION ENTERPRISES INC., CHAIRMAN, LANDMARK MEDIA ENTERPRISES INC., NORFOLK A storied Virginia media family, the Battens struck gold by selling The Weather Channel, co-founded by Frank Batten Jr.’s late father, for nearly $3.5 billion in 2008. Since 1998, Batten has served as chairman of Landmark, the private media company his family […]
Lee Enterprises plans newsroom cuts at Virginia publications
The Daily Progress newspaper in Charlottesville will lay off its four-person copy desk in early October, as Iowa-based owner Lee Enterprises eliminates local jobs in favor of a consolidated copy desk in Indiana or Wisconsin, according to a memo sent to affected employees Friday. The cuts at The Daily Progress are possibly just the beginning […]
15 women accuse former Redskins employees of sexual harassment, abuse
On Thursday evening, The Washington Post detailed the experiences of 15 former female Washington Redskins employees who said they were sexually harassed and verbally abused during their time with the Ashburn-based team. And on Thursday afternoon, the Associated Press first reported that Redskins owner Dan Snyder had hired a Washington, D.C.-based law firm to review […]
Virginia Business wins two national journalism awards
Virginia Business won two national journalism awards Thursday at The Alliance of Area Business Publishers’ (AABP) Editorial Excellence awards. The magazine placed gold in the “best feature” category for freelance writer Greg Weatherford’s November 2019 cover story, “The rise of the millennials,” which focused on the generation’s ascendance as America’[...]
Gannett eliminates CEO position for operating company
McLean-based Gannett Co. Inc., the nation’s largest newspaper publisher, announced Friday that its board of directors has decided to eliminate the CEO position for Gannett Media Corp., its operating company. The decision results in the departure of Paul Bascobert, who had joined the company in August 2019. Gannett Chairman and CEO Michael Reed has assumed […]
Axios to cover bail, medical bills for employee protesters
Arlington County-based digital media company Axios distributed a companywide email stating that it would cover bail or medical bills for employees who have participated in recent protests associated with the police killing of George Floyd, The New York Times first reported Tuesday. “First, let me say we proudly support and encourage you to exercise your […]
Facebook awards nearly $170k in grants to three Va. newsrooms
Facebook Inc. announced Thursday that it has awarded a total of nearly $170,000 from its COVID-19 Local News Relief Fund Grant Program to three Virginia media outlets: The Richmond Free Press, Charlottesville Tomorrow and the Henrico Citizen. Facebook received more than 2,000 applications for the funding, dividing more than $10 million in grants among 144 […]
Axios returns $4.8M in PPP funding
Arlington County-based digital media company Axios Media Inc. is returning $4.8 million it received from the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), according to Axios cofounder and CEO Jim VandeHei, who said the federal relief program aimed at helping small businesses keep their workforces employed had “become much more politically polarized since its incept[...]