Gannet and GateHouse announced a merger this week. Gannett’s newspapers include USA Today and Florida Today, while GateHouse papers include the Florida Times Union, the Palm Beach Post and the Gainesville Sun.
The deal would create a newspaper giant with a circulation of 8.7 million, and the aim is to combat declining ad revenue and circulation. So where does that leave newspapers in Florida-- the journalists who report the news and the people who read it?
On this episode of Intersection, we dive into the fine print of the merger and what it means for the news business with Rick Brunson, associate instructor of journalism at UCF; Sara Fischer, media reporter for Axios, and Rick Edmonds, media business analyst with Poynter.
Then- El Paso residents are grieving. The town on the border of Texas and Mexico was one of two communities hit by mass shootings last weekend. The tragedy in El Paso has deeply affected residents just across the border too.
We speak to Lauren Villagran, a border reporter for the El Paso Times and the USA Today Network about how the community has responded to the shooting.
And singer songwriter Amy Robbins joins us to perform a couple songs and talk about her new album: Maple Sparrow.