Gannett — you know, that media company that’s currently laying off thousands of employees and cutting costs at every possible corner — has just acquired an online nursing service. Now, new details are emerging about how well the corporation’s online arm is really doing.
The company bought Pearls Review , Paid Content reports, a certification and continuing eduation site for nurses. The same report from which that revelation was plucked also contained previously unreported facts about Gannett’s digital revenues. While its broadcast and print incomes have been falling at the speed of light, it turns out Gannett’s digital dollars are up — and by a good amount, too. Revenue from the company’s online properties, Paid Content discovered, more than quadrupled in the third quarter of 2008 — jumping from $17.2 million to $77.6 million. When it comes to the year, the total has nearly doubled from ’07, moving from $46.6 million to $111.5 million so far.
Well, that must be a relief for the scores of workers losing their jobs. At least they can go into the unemployment line knowing that their company is actually making money — just not money that it wants to spend on, you know, providing them employment. Or substantial severence.
