Republic, 12 News owner imposes 1-week unpaid furlough

The publisher of USA Today is imposing one-week unpaid furloughs on most of its U.S. employees during the first quarter.

Gannett says the furloughs could minimize the need for further layoffs. USA Today also declared a one-year freeze on wages.

The recession and the migration of advertising to the Internet have pounded Gannett's revenue prospects. The company cut newsroom jobs at USA Today by about 5 percent in November and slashed the work force at most of its U.S. newspapers by 10 percent in December.

Gannett operates The Arizona Republic, The Tucson Citizen and KPNX-TV in Phoenix and KNAZ-TV in Flagstaff.