Lee Enterprises vs Reach plc

Lee Enterprises and USA TODAY Co. Realign Local Newspaper Portfolios

Complementary Transaction Supports Local Journalism in Arizona, Montana and South Dakota

8-K Financial Filing Analysis for Lee Enterprises (2026-09-09)

On September 2, 2026, the Audit and Risk Management Committee of Lee Enterprises approved the dismissal of BDO USA, P.C. as the company's independent registered public accounting firm, effective upon completion of the fiscal year 2026 audit and the filing of Form 10-K. The decision follows a competitive evaluation and rotation process. Concurrently, Grant Thornton LLP was appointed as the successor independent auditor for the fiscal year ending September 26, 2027.

• Dismissal of BDO USA, P.C. approved on September 2, 2026, effective upon completion of the fiscal year 2026 audit (fiscal year ending September 27, 2026).
• Appointment of Grant Thornton LLP as independent auditor approved for the fiscal year ending September 26, 2027.
• No disagreements on accounting principles or auditing scope occurred during fiscal years 2024 and 2025; a previously identified material weakness in revenue internal controls was fully remediated as of September 29, 2024.

8-K Financial Filing Analysis for Lee Enterprises (2026-09-30)

On September 24, 2026, Lee Enterprises appointed Gregory Hoffmann to its Board of Directors and to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, serving until the 2028 annual stockholders meeting. Gregory Hoffmann, Co-CEO of Hoffmann Family of Companies and CEO of Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate, is the son of David Hoffmann, the Company's Chairman and majority stockholder. The appointment deepens governance alignment with the Hoffmann family following significant capital and commercial transactions earlier in 2026. These include a February 5, 2026 private placement in which David Hoffmann acquired 10,909,440 shares, and a May 14, 2026 five-year management agreement under which Lee Enterprises manages Hoffmann Media Group publications for a $135,000 quarterly base fee plus 20% variable EBITDA sharing on newly acquired assets.

• Gregory Hoffmann was appointed to the Board of Directors and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, effective September 24, 2026, with a term running through the 2028 annual meeting.
• Gregory Hoffmann is the son of David Hoffmann, Lee Enterprises' Chairman and majority owner, who acquired 10,909,440 shares via a private placement on February 5, 2026.
• Under a related-party five-year agreement dated May 14, 2026, Lee Enterprises manages Hoffmann Media Group properties for a fixed fee of $135,000 per quarter plus a 20% variable fee on post-effective acquired EBITDA.

Reach CEO Pushes Google AI Deal as Template, Pressures OpenAI

Reach PLC CEO Piers North is positioning the publisher's Google AI content deal as a framework for future LLM partnerships. The two-year agreement gives Google paid access to expanded rights to use Reach's UK and Ireland news content for its news AI pilot. In return, Reach gains monetization and visibility into content usage. North revealed that Reach has sent OpenAI a cease-and-desist letter, citing extensive scraping of its content via bots. He emphasized the need for consent and fair frameworks, noting ongoing discussions with Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft. The deal is time-limited, with renewal negotiations planned. North stressed the importance of proving the value of such deals to compensate for referral traffic erosion.

• Reach PLC agreed to a two-year deal with Google for expanded rights to its UK and Ireland news content for Google's news AI pilot.
• Reach CEO Piers North says the company sent OpenAI a cease-and-desist letter over content scraping.
• Reach has seen over 100 million successful scrapes of its content in the last six months.