PROVIDENCE – Lynne Sullivan has been named regional executive editor of The Providence Journal and The Newport Daily News, the Gannett Co.-owned papers announced on Thursday.
Sullivan has been serving as executive editor of The Herald News of Fall River, Taunton Daily Gazette of Taunton, The Enterprise of Brockton and The Standard-Times of New Bedford, all also Gannett papers.
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She immediately succeeds David Ng at The Providence Journal. Ng was laid off at the beginning of the month as part of Gannett’s latest round of cuts that targeted a 6% reduction of the chain’s news staff. She said she will split time between both Providence and Newport newsrooms in an email to Providence Business News.
Gannett spokeswoman Lark-Marie Anton could be immediately reached for comment Thursday.
Sullivan was named the executive editor The Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette in 2013. The Enterprise and The Standard-Times were added to her responsibilities in 2019. Her father, Anthony Santoro, was the founding dean of the Roger Williams University School of Law and was former president of the college.
Sullivan has a bachelor of arts in English from Boston College and a master of science in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
Linda Murphy will succeed Sullivan as editor of The Herald News and Standard-Times. Murphy has been the regional news editor at The Standard Times and The Herald News since January 2021. Prior to that, she held a variety of roles at the Fall River Herald.
On Aug 12, Gannett laid off more than 400 employees at several locations after reporting a $53.7 million loss in the second quarter. Gannett reported a loss of $54.1 million in the third quarter of 2022 earlier this month. The company expects a total net loss of $60 million to $70 million this year, according to USA Today.
Gannett announced companywide cost-cutting measures on Oct. 13, which included five mandatory unpaid furlough days between Dec. 19-30, suspension of the company’s 401(k) match, voluntary severance package offers and an optional four-day workweek.
On Nov. 18, Gannett announced that a new round of staff reductions would be coming in December, in a letter from its news division’s new interim head, Henry Faure Walker.
The number of job cuts was not specified. However, Gannett’s Anton told The Poynter Institute for Media Studies Inc. the company was targeting a 6% reduction, about 200 of its 3,400 newsroom employees.
One thing is certain, no worthwhile organization I have ever known has downsized to greatness.