Gannett gives employees an extra paid day off

Most Gannett employees will get Dec. 26 off, President and CEO Gracia Martore tells employees in a memo. Anyone who has to work that day — “because as we all know, the news never sleeps,” she writes — can plan another day off before the year ends.

Martore also gives some details about what divisions will stay with each company as Gannett plans to split its publishing and broadcast businesses. Gannett Digital will stay with the publishing company, as will IT and its national sales division.

Likewise, HR will be part of the broadcast company and will provide shared services to the publishing company. Each company will have its own legal and communications teams, among others. The split, Martore writes, should occur “in mid-2015.”

Here’s the memo:

Dear Colleagues:

I wanted to share some news in case you missed today’s employee Town Hall meeting.

The holiday season is fast approaching and I want to thank you for all you have done to help this company grow and thrive. The past three years have been fast-paced and exceptional as we continue to transform the company’s business and chart a new course. Without your hard work,
this company would not be in the terrific condition it is today.

Because of this, I want to give everyone a special holiday surprise: This year, the day after Christmas, Dec. 26, will be a paid day off —
a companywide holiday.

Of course there will be some of you who, like on any other holiday, will work that day because as we all know, the news never sleeps, or
takes a vacation for that matter.

For those of you who are called upon to work that day, please coordinate with your managers and plan another day off before the end
of the year. Every employee has earned this extra day off and your willingness to work on Dec. 26 is deeply appreciated.

Best wishes to all and thank you for helping to steer a strong course for our company and for your efforts in support of this journey of
transformation. I wish you and your families a very safe and joyous upcoming holiday season.

Meanwhile, on a different note, we are taking positive steps toward what we initially announced in August: the creation of two publicly
traded companies, one exclusively focused on our Broadcasting and Digital businesses, and the other on our Publishing business and its
dynamic digital assets.

This is — and will be — a long and complicated process as there are literally thousands of decisions, large and small, to be made as we go
down this road.

One of our initial considerations has been determining where the many parts of the business would be located — in other words — which group
goes with which company. And while we do not have all of the answers today, I want to share with you some of the preliminary decisions we
have made.

Obviously — the vast majority of you already know which company you will be going with — USCP, USA TODAY and Newsquest employees will go
with Publishing. Broadcasting and Digital Ventures employees will go with the Broadcasting and Digital company.

However, there are other groups that provide services across divisions. Some of the preliminary decisions on where those groups
will be housed have been made and I wanted to share that information with you.

As mentioned earlier, Digital Ventures, including G/O Digital, will stay with the Broadcasting and Digital company. G/O Digital will be a
shared service, providing its products to both companies. In addition, Cars.com will continue to offer its portfolio to the Publishing
company through affiliation agreements. Pointroll will transition to Digital Ventures over the coming months and will become part of the
Broadcasting and Digital company.

Gannett Digital will be a part of the Publishing company, where the majority of its clients are. The digital team will continue to provide
top notch products and services to Broadcasting and Digital Ventures. Over the next several months, we will be working to ensure that the
Broadcasting and Digital company has the appropriate digital expertise on staff as well.

National Sales will be housed in Publishing at separation, given it does the lion’s share of work for them but we will continue to look at
opportunities, even after the separation, to leverage both companies’ scale and reach together.

I.T. and Gannett Supply also will be a part of Publishing and provide shared services to the Broadcasting and Digital company.

Labor Relations and HR will be a part of the Broadcasting and Digital company. They will provide shared services to the Publishing company.

The Legal, Finance, Internal Audit, Investor Relations and Communications groups will be split between the two companies at the
time of separation, as each company will need its own independent teams.

I want to make it clear — I know we have the best people and corporate functions anywhere. In fact, supporting the two companies created by the separation will generate greater career opportunities for many of our current employees as we look at how to support both businesses.

Of course, until the day of separation, we are ONE company. We need to continue to produce the outstanding, trusted content our consumers and
communities expect from us; and we need to continue to support our clients by helping them grow their businesses with our strong products
and services.

So please keep up the terrific work you are doing today throughout this process — straight through to the separation, which we expect
will occur in mid-2015.

There are many more decisions to come and we will be sure to keep you updated.

Warm regards,

Gracia