Gannett Co., Inc. announced it has prepaid approximately $57.5 million on its five-year first lien term loan facility. As a result of this prepayment, the Company has reduced its first lien debt from $850.0 million to $792.5 million during the first quarter of 2025. The debt repayment was funded with the proceeds from the sale of the Austin-American Statesmen that was completed on February 28, 2025, as well as cash on hand. "As part of our long-term strategy, debt repayment remains a high priority, and we continue to make measurable progress, while also maintaining a healthy balance sheet and a strong liquidity position," said Michael Reed, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Today, it seems we are conditioned to think about innovation in terms of disruption or the emergence of products that are bigger, brighter, sharper, contain more memory or longer battery life. Paper has been so embedded in our lives over multiple generations that it is not only taken for granted, but sometimes thought of as an analog industry in a digital world. Yet our industry has survived recessions, war, global competition, soaring energy costs, increasing environmental regulation, e-books, tablet computers. We have proven time and again, through the resilience and ingenuity of our people, we can evolve our products and meet new customer needs. The paper industry has found innovative ways to reduce costs, increase productivity and developed new, value-added products that continue to make life better. Innovation comes in many forms; sometimes accompanied by press releases and media coverage and sometimes through continuous improvement and optimization of operations that are implemented without major fanfare or hoopla. All deserve to be recognized during National Forest Products Week, celebrated this year from October 15- 21. By leveraging emerging technologies, the U.S. paper industry has made dramatic improvements in energy use, resource efficiency and operational flexibility, which has enabled it to compete in the global marketplace. Through innovation, older, inefficient facilities have been transformed into world-class operations that reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, reduce water intake, extract more value from renewable biomass and are positioned to capture value in emerging markets. Click Read More below for additional information.

An organization of western U.S. states and Canadian provinces is joining the call for the U.S. government to drop its preliminary duties on imported newsprint and book paper. The U.S. Commerce Department has imposed preliminary duties on Canadian uncoated paper that total more than 28 per cent. That’s adding greatly to the costs of U.S. newspapers that are already struggling, says the executive of the Pacific Northwest Economic Region, a group of government and private-sector representatives. PNWER members include B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, with a head office in Seattle. Its executive statement, released Thursday, notes that the U.S. paper industry has shifted away from newsprint as demand in the U.S. has declined by 75 per cent since 2000. Click Read More below for additional information.