It's no joke: The Daily Advertiser's parent company is ending the wage freeze at its newspapers April 1.
Gannett Co. is ending the wage freeze at its newspapers, U.S Community Publishing President Bob Dickey confirmed in early March, after speculation of the lift was first reported by Gannettoid blog Jan. 12. Gannett owns The Daily Advertiser and Opelousas Daily World.
"I am very pleased to let you know that we are lifting the USCP wage freeze, effective April 1," Dickey wrote in a memo to employees. "Going forward, we will get back into the normal review cycle where people will be eligible for raises based, as always, on performance and contributions to the overall organization," Dickey added. The wage freeze is being lifted one year to the day it was implemented.
Like other newspaper chains across the country, Gannett has been struggling to reinvent itself amid the national recession and an environment of dwindling ad sales for print media. Read more about Gannett's struggles in this Independent Weekly Jan. 21, 2009, cover story.