Gannett Freezes Employee Pensions, Ups 401-K for Many (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

Gannett this afternoon announced it is freezing the pensions of company employees, according to sources at several newspapers, who said a memo on the plan was sent today from Gannett CEO Craig Dubow.

The change includes a change in 401K match, with employees gaining main Gannett stock for each contribution to their 401K fund.

Gannett officials did not respond to requests for comment. The move comes just days after Gannett announced it would write down its assets by about $2.5 billion to $3 billion this quarter to reflect the declining value of its operations in the United Kingdom and the United States.

A memo from Dubow circulating today, sent to E&P, includes the following: * "Dear Co-workers:

Beginning Aug. 1, Gannett will freeze the Gannett Pension Plan and improve the Gannett 401(k).

- On Aug. 1, your pension plan benefit will be frozen. It will not continue to grow (based on your years of service and final pay) as it did in the past. - All your benefits currently in the Pension Plan remain there for your retirement. - A cost-of-living allowance will be applied to your frozen benefit to help protect it from inflation.

Gannett is improving the 401(k). The new match for the Gannett 401(k), beginning Aug. 1, will be:

- Gannett contributes $1 in Gannett stock for every $1 you contribute (up to 5% of your pay). - Most Gannett employees now receive a 50-cent match for every $1 (up to 6% of your pay). - This is a large improvement in the 401(k) match.

It is important to know that even with the improved match in the 401(k), nearly all employees at every level will see a diminished benefit.

Freezing the pension plan benefit is another important step in keeping Gannett financially strong. This change will mean a considerable savings for the company even after returning significant dollars to employees through the enhanced 401(k).

I want to stress that today's benefit change action is unrelated to Monday's announcement that we will record an approximately $2.3 billion to $2.8 billion, after tax, non-cash impairment charge. They are, however, driven by the same underlying cause: the very difficult business environment.

We are not alone in making the benefit changes. There is a strong, worldwide trend to limit benefits in pension plans and shift to a more 401(k) based system. Also, enhancing the 401(k) plan makes us more attractive to those employees who especially value these portable, self-directed plans.

As a result of these changes, it is now even more important for employees to take responsibility for their own retirement. An important beginning is enrolling and contributing as much as you can to the improved 401(k).

Attached to this email is a booklet, Key Messages for Employees, explaining these retirement plan changes in more detail. Key Messages will answer many of your important questions.

Plus, in the next few days, you will receive a Personalized Benefit Statement, mailed to your home, showing your current benefit in the Pension Plan (this is the amount that will be frozen beginning August 1st) and information about the 401(k).

There is also a telephone Helpline, opening on June 12th, that can answer your questions about the Personalized Benefit Statements.

Your operating unit head and/or HR representatives received a briefing about these retirement plan changes earlier today. In the upcoming days, as they become more familiar with the change, they can also play an important role in explaining this change.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080610/washington_post_severance_charges.html?.v=1

Washington Post to record $80M in severance costs
Tuesday June 10, 5:46 pm ET
Washington Post to record bulk of $80 million in severance-related charges in 2nd quarter

NEW YORK (AP) — Newspaper and magazine publisher Washington Post Co. said Tuesday it will record charges of about $80 million, most of which will be realized in the second quarter, related to severance costs.

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the charges will be funded primarily from the assets of the company’s pension plans.

The severance costs stem from an early retirement program offered to some Washington Post newspaper employees.

Like newspapers across the country, the Post has been hit by an economic slowdown and a shift of advertising dollars to the Internet. In February, the paper announced the buyout, its third since 2003, and said it plans to close one of its two printing plants by 2010.

Washington Post shares fell $6 to close at $600, after bottoming out at $595.60 earlier in the session, their lowest point in nearly six years.

http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=84443

Ad Spending Climbs A Tepid 0.6%, Internet Leads Major Media Investments
by Joe Mandese, Wednesday, Jun 11, 2008 9:15 AM ET
The U.S. advertising economy managed to eke out a tepid 0.6% growth during the first quarter of 2008, according to data on measured media spending released this morning by TNS Media Intelligence, but concerns about the economy are continuing to drag on ad spending in most of the major media.

“Enduring concerns about economic conditions and consumer spending behavior continued to cast a pall over the advertising market during the first quarter,” stated Jon Swallen, senior vice president-research at TNS media intelligence. “After a hopeful start to the year, the pace of ad spending slowed perceptibly during March and early figures from the second quarter indicate little immediate or sustained improvement in the core ad economy.”

While the first quarter of 2008 represents a sequential uptick from the fourth quarter of 2007, which rose a scant 0.1% in measured media ad spending, it is not an auspicious start to what ordinarily is expected to be a banner advertising year - a so-called “quadrennial year” with incremental advertising stimuli from the combined effects of a U.S. presidential election and a Summer Olympics.

The Internet continued to be the best story among the major media during the first quarter of the year, rising 8.5% over the first quarter of 2007, according to TNS MI’s figures, which account only for online display advertising and do not factor high growth sectors such as online search.

While overall TV ad spending was relatively modest with a growth rate of 1.7%, Spanish-language TV and cable TV continued to outpace the overall medium. Network TV ad expenditures rose only 0.8% during the quarter, not the best harbinger for the 2008-08 upfront advertising marketplace, which nonetheless appears to have managed to sell out at reasonable rates of growth.

The nation’s biggest advertisers outpaced the overall growth in he U.S. ad economy by a margin of more than two-to-one. The top 10 advertisers in the first quarter of 2008 spent a combined total of $4,425.5 million, a 1.6% increase from last year. However, among the top 50 companies, a more diversified group of marketers representing nearly one-third of total ad expenditures, spending fell by 1.4%.

Procter & Gamble maintained its position as the largest advertiser with $836.4 million in spending, a robust 15.8% increase versus a year ago. TNS MI said that P&G “aggressively expanded advertising support across its portfolios of personal care and household cleaning products.” PepsiCo vaulted into the Top 10, posting a 39.5% increase to $334.4 million on higher spending for the Gatorade brand line.
Joe Mandese is Editor of MediaPost.

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