Hundreds of workers employed by Gannett-owned newsrooms took part in a coordinated walkout during their lunch break last week in response to a string of emails from upper management that threatened layoffs due to the company’s second quarter financials.
Observers are left to wonder: Why are so many journalists jumping ship at a flagship newspaper in a major metropolitan area like Phoenix?
The answer, according to some current and former staffers, is multi-faceted. Some employees have moved on to jobs at other media outlets, including top-tier publications: reporter Angel Mendoza is now a social media editor for the
Washington Post, for example, and education reporter Lily Altavena went to the
Detroit Free Press. Why others left the paper isn t as clear. Insiders cite factors such as low pay, burnout, a toxic work environment created by the paper s executive editor, Greg Burton, gender and race-based pay disparities, and management s allegedly superficial commitment to diversifying its staff and supporting women and people of color in the newsroom.