On the heels of Gannett Co. Inc.’s sudden July 25th announcement that the Arizona Republic will no longer be printed in Arizona, some of the outlets top reporters and columnists are being “bought out,” including Mary Jo Pitzl, Laurie Roberts, EJ Montini, Elvia Diaz, and Phil Boas.
The buyouts follow a flurry of closures that wiped out five rural newspapers in Arizona owned by News Media Corp.
The buyouts were revealed by Hank Stephenson, co-founder of the Arizona Agenda.
In his reporting released on Wednesday titled “Bloodbath at the Republic,” Stephenson wrote in part:
“The corporate morons at Gannett have offered another round of buyouts to their top talent at the Republic — and we’re losing some of the best reporters and columnists in Arizona.
Among those that got bought out is “Agendie” winner and Arizona treasure Mary Jo Pitzl. Plus, we hear the list includes columnists Laurie Roberts, EJ Montini, Elvia Diaz, Phil Boas, among others.”
As previously reported by AZ Free News in July, Gannett, the parent company of the Arizona Republic, announced the newspaper would no longer be printed in the state, but rather would be printed at its Las Vegas facility and shipped into Arizona. The move came at the cost of 117 jobs and the closure of the paper’s massive Deer Valley Printing Facility in North Phoenix.
At that time, Lark-Marie Antón, Gannett chief communications and brand officer, claimed without evidence that “The Arizona Republic will continue to provide readers with quality, local content that matters most to them,” and did not allude to any staffing changes at the newspaper.
Some have speculated that grant-based journalism could not last long and in light of the shutdown of USAID, progressive not-for-profit news, with its flagging subscribership, had no chance for survival.
In fact, according to recent reporting from Axios, outlets like Politico have only survived through government and USAID-type of subscribers.
Politicos weighed in on the news depending on the treatment they received at the hands of the progressive and highly partisan writers and editorial staff at the Republic.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes commented on the buyouts in a post to X from her official account, giving the report additional credence, writing, “The buyouts at the Arizona Republic are devastating. Losing legendary reporters like @maryjpitzl means less accountability and less transparency for the public. And it’s bad news for democracy. As a former Republic reporter, it breaks my heart to see the state of the paper today.”
Supporters of Kari Lake, who was a victim of the bias of for-profit and not-for-profit outlets while running for office in Arizona, celebrated the news.
“We know it’s considered uncouth to celebrate when anyone loses their job,” Lake’s supporters posted on the @KariLakeWarRoom account on X.com. “But given the absolute contempt the staff at @azcentral have shown for journalism, the truth, & the conservative subjects they “cover”, we’re going to make an exception here.”
Lake, an award-winning anchor in the Phoenix area, walked away from the industry due to her belief that the industry had become little more than a fake news factory during the COVID pandemic. She then ran for office and became a punching bag for her former scorned colleagues. This year, Lake was chosen by President Donald Trump to become Acting-Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
Lake’s supporters weren’t alone in their celebration. Congressman Abe Hamadeh supporters tweeted, “We’re going to miss @ejmontini’s bimonthly requests that Congressman Hamadeh be deported.”
Others chimed in with comments ranging from, “I will miss the feel of pulp,” to “If @azcentral knew what real journalism is, they wouldn’t be having layoffs. It’s been so long since I’ve seen that paper I didn’t know they were still in business. Stopped believing them years ago.”
“While Montini, Roberts, and Diaz likely earned their keep with their click bait columns, the money it takes to keep unpopular outlets like the Republic alive is just too much for the average capitalist,” one Arizona Capitol insider told the Arizona Daily Independent. “Republicans control the state – that is because voters support Republican policies. Those voters are the majority in the state and the population of potential readers. They don’t want to be lied to and insulted on a daily basis. That is the bottom line – the idiots at the Republic just couldn’t get past their own hate to keep themselves alive. But don’t get me wrong, they are not martyrs for the cause. They are delusional suicidal losers.”