A group of five current and former employees are suing Gannett, the largest newspaper publisher in the United States, alleging the media company racially discriminated against them.
The lawsuit (pdf) alleges that Gannett, which owns the national publication USA Today and more than two dozen local publications throughout the country, implemented a policy in 2020 that sought to have the demographics of the company’s various newsrooms reflect the racial and ethnic demographics of the communities they cover. The plaintiffs allege this policy, which the lawsuit dubs a “Reverse Race Discrimination Policy,” amounted to a racial quota system that saw existing white employees forced out of their positions and saw the company exclude white males in future hiring decisions.
