NEW YORK - AMERICAN daily newspapers cut 5,900 newsroom jobs in 2008, according to a survey from the American Society of News Editors.

The group says this was the steepest cut since the survey began in 1978.

NEW YORK - US SHARES opened higher on Thursday as better-than-expected profits from JPMorgan Chase offered hope that the banking sector is on the mend and a drop in new US jobless claims lifted the mood.

WASHINGTON - GANNETT, the largest US newspaper chain, reported a nearly 60 per cent plunge in quarterly net profit on Thursday and a 34 per cent slump in advertising revenue for its vast publishing empire.

Gannett, owner of USA Today and dozens of other newspapers, said its first quarter net profit was US$77.7 million, or 34 cents per share, down from 191.8 million dollars or 84 cents per share in the same quarter last year.