Hearst Connecticut Media Group, the state’s largest newspaper company, has made buyout offers to several employees.
The company is owned by media conglomerate Hearst Corporation and publishes eight daily and ten weekly newspapers in the state.
On Monday, LeeAnne Griffin, a senior food reporter at Hearst CT, announced on LinkedIn that she has accepted a voluntary acquisition after nearly four years with the company. She has worked in daily journalism for more than 20 years as a website producer and reporter for the Hartford Courant and other newspapers.
“I am extremely proud of my work over the past 20 years, especially as a food and dining writer covering the great (and vastly underrated) culinary scene in Connecticut,” Griffin wrote. “It was an honor to be able to tell these stories and meet so many innovative, talented and passionate people along the way.”
Griffin is scheduled to leave Hearst CT on November 1st. In the post, she said she is looking for new opportunities in the field of communication and storytelling.
It’s unclear how many acquisitions the company has proposed, how many have been accepted, and how many layoffs it plans.
Representatives for Hearst CT and Hearst Corporation did not immediately respond to inquiries from the Hartford Business Journal.
But the takeover appears to have happened across newspapers, not just in Connecticut.
The layoffs come as Hearst’s Connecticut News staff is working to unionize.
The Connecticut News Guild, which is made up of reporters, photographers, editors and digital producers, announced in August that about 85% of its 110-person unit had signed union cards with the News Guild-CWA.
Employees want higher pay, better working conditions, and the ability to participate in media decisions.
The union issued the following statement Tuesday morning in response to the takeover:
“Connecticut News Guild is saddened to see so many of our talented, hard-working and professional colleagues leave the company. I look forward to voting for the union soon.”
Norwalk-based Hearst CT continues to grow and last year acquired two daily newspapers, the Manchester Journal Inquirer and the Meriden-based Record Journal. It also owns Connecticut Magazine, along with the Connecticut Post in Bridgeport, the News Times in Danbury, the New Haven Register, and The Advocate in Stamford.
Hearst Corporation is privately held and does not publicly disclose its revenues.
President and CEO Stephen Swartz said in a letter to employees in February 2024 that the company achieved its second-highest profit in history in 2023.
The company is seeing increased digital subscription sales in 2023 and plans to offer new subscription products, he said.
“Therefore, we believe that most of our businesses have a very good chance of growing in 2024, and we will provide all the support necessary to do so,” Swartz wrote.
