A year after acquiring the Commercial Appeal and Knoxville News-Sentinel, Gannett made sizable cuts today in both of those newsrooms, in addition to laying off three reporters locally.
In Memphis, sources tell the Scene that 17 staff members were eliminated in the newsroom, including seven digital producers, two photographers, two reporters, one clerk and five editors. In Knoxville, 11 were eliminated from the newsroom, including four managers. The cuts largely follow the "Newsroom of the Future" model implemented in Nashville, which slices out middle managers and copy desks in favor of a newsroom with editors and planners at the top and reporters at the bottom, with little in between.
At The Tennessean, food columnist Jim Myers — whom the paper has promoted on billboards and in marketing campaigns — and 12th & Broad manager/host Marcia Masulla were laid off. Michelle Willard was laid off by the Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro, too. Incredibly, Myers was hosting a Tennessean event just last night for readers as part of the paper's Storytellers series, only to be given severance papers this morning. The reductions follow a dribble of cuts in October. But unlike those, which were part of a nationwide bloodletting of 2 percent of Gannett's overall workforce, these cuts appear to be confined to Tennessee.
Newsroom employees of the former Journal newspapers in Knoxville and Memphis were told upon the acquisition last year that they likely would not face layoffs within the first year, a term that comes up next week on April 7. They almost made it.
In recent months, all of Gannett's Tennessee properties have been part of a campaign to brand the papers as part of the "USA Today Network — Tennessee," a move that largely masks the decreasing amount of market-specific content in each paper. Readers in all three major markets have complained to the Scene in recent months about the increasing amount of state news in their papers.
A source also tells the Scene that town halls have been planned at each Tennessee paper to discuss "the future of Gannett." Speculation ahead of those meetings has centered around a reduction in publishing in several markets, similar to action taken at Mississippi and Louisiana papers. The Hattiesberg American will cut frequency from seven to three days per week, while the The Town Talk and The Daily World will drop from six to three. With markets of similar size under Gannett rule in Clarksville, Murfreesboro and Jackson, the same trend may be on the way here.
Update 4 p.m.: The Memphis Flyer has a partial list of the Commercial Appeal layoffs.
Update 4:45 p.m.: Tennessean publisher Laura Hollingsworth sent the following note to Tennessee staff this afternoon:
Tennessee colleagues:Today we underwent and completed a reduction in personnel in our news division in several of our Tennessee markets, as part of a transformative strategy for the USA TODAY NETWORK–Tennessee.  We recognize that this has been a tough day, and we respect and appreciate the work of all our colleagues, especially those who have been impacted by these actions -- through no fault of their own.Â
We’ve previously spoken about the new ways we will be able to better serve readers, communities and customers as we fully form the statewide network.  Today was the first step as we re-secure and level-set our economic vitality to support our journalism.
Tomorrow morning, at our Tennessee Town Hall which many of you will be attending in-person, we look forward to unveiling the complete details of our plans. Â To those who are not attending, we will make available a link which will allow you to watch a recorded vision of our message.Â
We look forward to our time together, tomorrow, as we now look ahead to our very powerful future and opportunity in Tennessee.
 Â
Laura L. Hollingsworth
President, The Tennessean
President, USA  TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee
