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Article: What happens when Gannett takes over: culture clash and some disturbing changes at two formerly family-owned newspapers. (Des Moines Register and the Louisville Courier-Journal)
- Article from:
- Columbia Journalism Review
- Article date:
- November 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Culture clash and some disturbing changes at two formerly family-owned newpapers
Many journalists believe that after a big chain buys a great, family-owned newspaper, damage and even ruin await. So, fear spread in the mid-1980s when Gannett Company, seeking prestige and profits, bought The Des Moines Register and the Louisville Courier-Journal, both influential, statewide institutions often cited among the nation's best papers.
How have the famous mastheads fared under the nation's largest newspaper chain? Has Gannett, which once ran mainly smaller, mediocre papers, shown a big-league touch, improving both papers? Or, as critics predicted, has Gannett's ...