Top News:
@kerrymflynn:
Vice to lay off 55 in the US and ~100 globally, citing the fact that digital organization accounts for 50% of headcount costs but brings in about 21% of revenue — Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc on layoffs: 55 in US + ~100 globally: “The reality is that some tough decisions had to be made primarily around our digital teams. Currently, our digital organization accounts for around 50% of our headcount costs, but only brings in about 21% of our revenue” https://twitter.com/...
Discussion:
@viceunion, Variety, Discourse Blog, @treytylor, @cliomiso, Hollywood Reporter, @xpangler, @sydegee, @pmsunion, @plbarghouty, @sammy_roth, @raxsha, Breitbart, @om, @margotroosevelt, @ashkan, The Wrap, @film_girl, @robzacny, @aleksnotalex, @bri_provenzano, @msolis14, @isobelyeung, @vwpickard, @hcheadle, @dnewhauser, @lalpert1, @lalpert1, @bcmerchant, @bcmerchant, @lalpert1, @longdrivesouth, @sallyhayd, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @onionincunion, @amyrosary, @byjoelanderson, @stuartathompson, @stuartathompson, @stuartathompson, @anrao, @stuartathompson, @lainnafader, @amandakhurley, @lainnafader, @viceunion, @transgamerthink, @cmonstah, @ericnus, @stuartathompson, @mattdpearce, @andybcampbell, @saba_h, @jaylclendenin, @tomiobaro, @jessicalessin, @kerrymflynn, @thecultureofme, @erickfernandez, @timcast, @rozzy, @ashkan, @kerrymflynn, Gothamist, CNBC, Talking Biz News, Adweek and Axios
Discussion:
Jack Crosbie / Discourse Blog: They Can't Even Fire Us Right
Trey Taylor / @treytylor: What do we do now that there are 32 editors left and 253789439 freelance writers
Clio / @cliomiso: just got laid off! love my team so much at vice, some of the best people i've ever worked with. solidarity to those getting cut & those still working in unsustainable conditions. ownership doesn't care about journalism, but we do and we're going to build the industry we deserve
Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter: Vice Media Laying Off 155 Employees
Todd Spangler / @xpangler: In a statement, Vice Union said: “We understand that the entire news industry is hurting. We do not understand why Vice chose to lay off many of our colleagues in the middle of a global pandemic instead of exhausting all options to save these jobs” https://variety.com/...
@sydegee: never in my life have i experienced a layoff with dignity https://discourseblog.substack.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@pmsunion: I for one am saddened to see another writers Union be seemingly powerless when it comes to fighting against their bosses in a financial battle. This is why the PMSLU must bravely soldier on in the shameless hawking of overpriced products for which it does not have proper license. https://twitter.com/...
Phoebe Leila Barghouty / @plbarghouty: It looks like Vice is still using gchat to lay off employees. I was on my first vacation when Nancy from HR told me my “role was eliminated” over gchat along with dozens of my colleagues. https://discourseblog.substack.com/ ...
Sammy Roth / @sammy_roth: Journalism is reeling. If there's a publication you like to read and you want to keep reading it, now is the time to spend some money and support the work. https://www.niemanlab.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Raksha Muthukumar / @raxsha: Absolutely furious at the all the replies telling ppl to just learn to code in response to layoffs!!! What, you think you're better bc your layoffs haven't happened yet?? Enjoy your world w no artists and writers you absolute empathy lacking robot wankers https://twitter.com/...
@om: It is amazing to see after blowing through nearly $1.7 billion (including debt) @VICE CEO blames Google & Facebook for its troubles. Maybe just maybe people didn't want their product, and maybe there were some bad choices made. #vicelayoffs https://nypost.com/...
Margot Roosevelt / @margotroosevelt: .@VICE lays off 100 employees after management refused to consider workshare option or cut executive pay, per @viceunion https://twitter.com/...
Ashkan Karbasfrooshan / @ashkan: This week was brutal for workers in media: https://www.mediagazer.com/... It'll be interesting to look back to see how many “storytelling/entrepreneurs” emerged from the ashes: https://www.linkedin.com/...
Lindsey Ellefson / The Wrap: Vice Media Cuts 155 Staffers in New Round of Layoffs
Christina Warren / @film_girl: This from @jscros is really good. There is no good way to do layoffs. It doesn't exist. But there is a way to do it with respect and humility and that's something I wish companies of all sizes would consider. https://discourseblog.substack.com/ ...
Robert Zacny / @robzacny: Thanks to those who reached out. The Waypoint team remains intact after what's become a regular ritual of layoffs. As always, it was handled with great cruelty and scant reason. We know we're lucky. Our colleagues deserved better, and we're grateful @viceunion demands better.
Aleksander Chan / @aleksnotalex: the handwringing from execs about “tough choices” is just them psyching themselves up to take you out. to me, the only useful memo from the ceo in a layoff is plain language about how and when you'll know if you still have a job https://discourseblog.substack.com/ ...
Brianna Provenzano / @bri_provenzano: Not sure how we're supposed to do “mass media layoffs” without being able to get drunk in dive bars together. God is really pushing it with this one!
Marie Solis / @msolis14: today was my last day at VICE. I got to work with some of the kindest, smartest people in journalism there and I'm truly devastated. solidarity forever
Isobel Yeung / @isobelyeung: Gutted to see so many talented media folks lose their jobs this week. Please hire them all. https://twitter.com/...
Victor Pickard / @vwpickard: This is so terrible. We have to start seeing these cuts as a tragedy for all of us. It's not about the failure of specific business models. Rather it's systemic and it's a blow to any hope we might have for achieving a democratic society. https://www.niemanlab.org/... via @NiemanLab
Harry Cheadle / @hcheadle: after ten years, my streak of working at vice without getting laid off has come to an end. I will be looking for work etc. in the near future but right now I'm going to take the dog for a walk
Daniel Newhauser / @dnewhauser: So I passed my one year mark at Vice last week & never tweeted about it. But I guess one year is where it ends. I got axed today. I'm grateful for the amazing journalists who helped me do some of the best work of my career there. On to the next step. If you're hiring, LMK
Lukas I. Alpert / @lalpert1: @bcmerchant @alexeheath The Times' tally includes the 10s of thousands who had their pay reduced or were hit with part-time furloughs, so the actual job loss figure is substantially less than what you are citing here
Lukas I. Alpert / @lalpert1: @bcmerchant @alexeheath The Times' tally also appeared to include all 20k of Gannett's employees who were hit with partial furloughs, about 15k of whom are not involved in newsroom operations. The situation is bad, but not as apocalyptic as the Times made it seem
Brian Merchant / @bcmerchant: @lalpert1 @alexeheath i don't know, starting the year with 88k down from half that a decade ago is already pretty apocalyptic — and w thousands more shed now, seems pretty bad
Brian Merchant / @bcmerchant: To put things in perspective: After decades of layoffs, there were 88K newsroom jobs by the end of 2019, counting digital. According to the NYT, there have been ~36k lost jobs since then. There is now approximately one mid-sized town worth of journalists covering the entire US.
Lukas I. Alpert / @lalpert1: @bcmerchant @alexeheath Oh, of course, the industry has been suffering a crushing decline over the past 15 years or so, but my main point was that we didn't just see 36k jobs disappear in the last 2 months
Daniel Hernandez / @longdrivesouth: More layoffs coming at #Vice. The emotional toll of this ... across digital media at large. Solidarity @viceunion: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Sally Hayden / @sallyhayd: Thoughts with former colleagues at Vice, as well as everyone at Buzzfeed, Quartz, the Economist, etc. where layoffs are ongoing. This is a terrible time for journalism. https://twitter.com/...
Judd Legum / @juddlegum: In the long run, journalism needs to be completely decoupled from corporate advertising
Judd Legum / @juddlegum: The shrinking of legacy and “new” media ventures is a tragedy but also an opportunity for journalists There are thousands of stories that should be told that are not being told And people are willing to pay for those stories
@onionincunion: This is awful. Solidarity with @viceunion, and shame on CEOs like Nancy Dubuc for pretending they're doing anything to protect workers. https://twitter.com/...
Amy Rose Spiegel / @amyrosary: VICE lost so many talented people today. A lot of them were already-underrepresented women of color and trans women on our staff. I am heartbroken and pissed. https://twitter.com/...
Joel D. Anderson / @byjoelanderson: this is an incredibly bleak time all the way around. i'm so sorry for everyone at vice, buzzfeed, the cleveland plain-dealer, and pretty much every other media outlet because we're seemingly all going to feel the same or a similar pain at some point. https://twitter.com/...
Stuart Andrew Thompson / @stuartathompson: Dubuc's contract “is said to reward her for selling the company,” according to VF, which could really explain a lot of shortsighted rush-to-profitability moves she's made. seems less like long-term nurturing of the company/its people and more like a mad dash to bonusland
Stuart Andrew Thompson / @stuartathompson: for instance job-sharing during a downturn makes a lot of sense if you're a company that values talent and you're thinking long-term. LA Times did that. but VICE didn't bite. because a smaller staff is more attractive to buyers?
Stuart Andrew Thompson / @stuartathompson: this is why Dubuc's disinterest in her staff is so puzzling. VICE, way more than other media, is entirely based around the voice of its writers/employees. you can't just swap in reporters randomly, at a whim, and keep what made VICE successful. https://twitter.com/...
Ankita Rao / @anrao: The only reason VICE became VICE was because its journalists dared to go to corners of the earth and internet nobody else would. That's why I worked there. What is the end game?
Stuart Andrew Thompson / @stuartathompson: it's worth looking at her own job performance. she decided to “go big” and invest in VICE Live, a two-hour TV show (teens love scheduled cable TV right!). it was canceled in 2 months. one VICE insider called it “the worst two hours of TV ever made.”
Lainna Fader / @lainnafader: This has been such a terrible week for the media industry. Heartbroken for friends and colleagues at Conde, Quartz, Vice, and maybe even more. The worst part is it's not an issue of quality of work, but of a broken business model and other external forces https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Amanda Kolson Hurley / @amandakhurley: Co-sign. Also, I'm sure traffic is way up at most or all of these outlets (+ Buzzfeed)—people have been consuming so much news during the pandemic. That doesn't even matter without a workable business model. https://twitter.com/...
Lainna Fader / @lainnafader: + BuzzFeed We all deserve so much better than this https://twitter.com/...
@viceunion: Today as always, we are grateful for our union and hope more newsrooms organize for better job protections and guaranteed severance.
Heather Alexandra / @transgamerthink: Been a bad week for the industry and the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of executives who lack the imagination to *actually* collaborate with workers. https://twitter.com/...
Carolina A. Miranda / @cmonstah: Seeing how many companies don't want to deal with workshare makes me happy I work @latimes. Because not trying to preserve your newsroom is a hot crock of bull 💩 https://twitter.com/...
Eric Nusbaum / @ericnus: The one constant theme of my time working at VICE was corporate management finding creative new ways disregard and disrespect the incredible work done by its journalists while also selling that journalism to potential investors & financiers. I'm sad that nothing has changed. https://twitter.com/...
Stuart Andrew Thompson / @stuartathompson: since arriving, the only thing VICE ceo Nancy Dubuc seems to be good at is laying people off. she's ended about 400 jobs in two years. https://twitter.com/...
Matt Pearce / @mattdpearce: “For more than a month, VICE repeatedly refused to discuss workshare programs.” 😡 https://twitter.com/...
Andy Campbell / @andybcampbell: Over just three days, Condé Nast, Quartz and VICE gutted their newsrooms with layoffs. This is a historically bad year for digital and local journalism. https://twitter.com/...
Saba Hamedy / @saba_h: This was an awful week for media. It's incredibly depressing to see all these amazing journalists across many outlets lose their jobs. Thinking of them, and our industry. I don't have hiring powers but I'm always here to lend an ear to anyone who needs it ❤️ https://twitter.com/...
Jay L. Clendenin / @jaylclendenin: if the program is available, and companies truly value their employees, why wouldn't they look into it plans like the workshare program? https://twitter.com/...
Jessica Lessin / @jessicalessin: Fascinating. Vice cutting digital team because revenue lags traditional. Blames Big Tech. https://twitter.com/...
@kerrymflynn: Vice union said they were pushing for a workshare program but management refused. Union also says management refused to make further cuts to exec compensation: https://twitter.com/...
X A-Jeff / @thecultureofme: i've had a lot of friends lose jobs at vice in the past 20 years and it still sucks how often this happens https://twitter.com/...
Erick Fernandez / @erickfernandez: Seemingly endless bad news coming out of the media industry. https://twitter.com/...
Tim Pool / @timcast: I joined VICE as they started rocketing to the top and I jumped ship right at the top https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Ryan Osborn / @rozzy: Sad truth: “Digital” doesn't work as more heads with same cost structure. “Digital production” has to be applied to the core. https://twitter.com/...
Ashkan Karbasfrooshan / @ashkan: Every time u read about layoffs, it's fear from @sequoia deck driving it. @Vice built an organization that rivaled traditional in size but without the commensurate revenue so digital's 50% costs vs 21% revenues forces it to cut where future growth is. https://www.mediagazer.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@kerrymflynn: In the second half of the email, Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc seems to blame the company's financial situation on “Big Tech.” “Platforms are not just taking a larger slice of the pie, but almost the whole pie.” Wonder if she read Stratchery's post yesterday: https://stratechery.com/...
Caroline Lewis / Gothamist: VICE Lays Off 155 Employees As Pandemic Decimates Newsrooms
Jessica Bursztynsky / CNBC: Vice Media CEO slams Big Tech as ‘great threat to journalism’ in layoffs memo
Sara Fischer / Axios: Vice Media lays off 155 employees
Dan Kennedy / wgbh.org:
Boston Globe now has nearly 205K subscribers, up from 145K before the pandemic, though most new subscriptions were sold for ~$1/month for the first six months — The Boston Globe now has more than 200,000 digital subscribers, editor Brian McGrory said at a Zoom gathering of the Society …
Discussion:
Media Nation, @danzedekdesign, @curtwoodward, @gustlovina, @ddpan, @tednesi, @vgmac, @dankennedy_nu, @rasmus_kleis and Dan Kennedy
Discussion:
Dan Kennedy / Media Nation: The Boston Globe reaches a long-sought goal: 200,000 digital subscribers
Dan Zedek / @danzedekdesign: Big subscriber boost for @BostonGlobe. Great to see the excellent work by @GlobeMcGrory's team finding the readership it deserves. https://twitter.com/...
Curt Woodward / @curtwoodward: Huge milestone for the Globe: 200,000 digital-only subscribers. Subscription revenue is sustainable, incredibly well-aligned with the mission, and devoid of fraud and middlemen. Thanks to our incredible community for this support! https://www.wgbh.org/...
Jure Gostisa / @gustlovina: Corona bump - the first global digital news subscriptions bump. Let's hope it was also the last.🙄 https://twitter.com/...
Deanna Pan / @ddpan: “It took us 7 years to get our first 100,000 digital-only subscribers, and about 11 months to get to 200,000,” @GlobeMcGrory said. Thank you, Globe subscribers, for your support! https://www.wgbh.org/...
Victoria McGrane / @vgmac: Thank you @BostonGlobe subscribers! We love you! https://twitter.com/...
Dan Kennedy / @dankennedy_nu: The @BostonGlobe hits the 200,000 mark for digital subscriptions. Now it has to figure out how to hold onto them. My @wgbhnews column: https://www.wgbh.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen / @rasmus_kleis: “It took us 7 years to get our first 100,000 digital-only subscribers, and about 11 months to get to 200,000” @GlobeMcGrory says. Well done to everyone at @BostonGlobe, so absolutely delightful to hear good news about digital progress in local news https://www.wgbh.org/...
@kerrymflynn:
Quartz CEO says even with 17K paid subscribers, the company is laying off 80 staff, closing physical offices in four locations as it seeks profitability by 2022 — Quartz CEO Zach Seward's remarks to staff re today's layoffs: “This is no doubt the greatest challenge we have faced as a company.. I have made the very difficult decision to eliminate about 80 roles at Quartz and make other changes in order to improve the health of our business” https://twitter.com/...
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Press Gazette, @briannanholt, @katerinareports, @neilcybart, @tessadunlop, @raju, @rafat, @gabbystern, @brokenbottleboy, @chaykak, @ron_fournier, @emilywithrow, @theplumlinegs, @zseward, @annalecta, @mims, @kerrymflynn, @domdifurio, @newspaperwallah, @moorehn, @jeffjarvis, @nicholasadeleon, @elanazak, @brizzyc, @oliviamesser, @shortformernie, @jenniavins, @mlcalderone, @ejdionne, @normornstein, @timfernholz, @eacrunden, @jason, @jbenton, @jeffjarvis, @martyswant, @aldenwicker, @elanazak, @ashkan, @mitrakalita, @emilybell, @glichfield, @sarahfkessler, @johnxenak, @lattif, @sona_here, @samthielman, @davidmackau, @davegershgorn, @marcatracy and @kerrymflynn
Discussion:
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette: Quartz to close London office amid 80 job losses as ad sales slump by half
Brianna Holt / @briannanholt: RT! Thinking of my Qz fam today. One of the best professional experiences I've ever had. Anyone let go will be a bonus to any newsroom. https://twitter.com/...
Katerina Ang / @katerinareports: The most terrible thing about all this is that a lot of the bigger media entities (both legacy and “new") went into 2020 convinced that the tide was turning https://www.axios.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Neil Cybart / @neilcybart: Quartz, despite having nearly 18,000 paid subscribers, is scaling back due to getting hit hard by the ad slowdown. Their cost structure just isn't set up to depend solely on paid subscribers. I have a feeling many news sites are in a similar position. https://talkingbiznews.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Tessa Dunlop / @tessadunlop: Well my first day as a DR+ I realise the 2 industries I rely on - journalism and academia - have never looked bleaker. But it's amazing what you can do from your bedroom. Have you listened to my new @btflpodcasts ? Matt reinvented himself -.we must too http://tinyurl.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Raju Narisetti / @raju: Even amid current digital cuts across all media, this is really brutal: Quartz to Lay Off 80 People, 40% of @QZ, including +20 journalists; shutter many offices; w/execs taking big pay cuts. The sad irony is it is now owned by a deep-pocketed company. https://www.nytimes.com/...?
@rafat: This is very sad to hear. I've been critical of QZ for years, for gimmicks on product, lack of focus on edit, takes for takes sake, etc. BUT they brought new energy to online media, many ideas were ahead of time, had very decent people behind it, springboard for great talent. https://twitter.com/...
Gabby Stern / @gabbystern: As a fellow superfan, I'm so sorry and sad. I admire @qz and have huge respect for its newsroom. https://twitter.com/...
Mic Wright / @brokenbottleboy: This is a statement utterly lacking in empathy. Like so much media industry boss fuckery, Seward's remarks focus more on the company and its beloved metrics than the effect of the decision on the actual human beings who work for him. https://twitter.com/...
Kyle Chayka / @chaykak: “if you don't receive a calendar invitation by 11:30 am” then your job is safe. This huge cut is shitty, even in the context of other layoffs https://twitter.com/...
Ron Fournier / @ron_fournier: “Prior assumptions about our business no longer apply.” It's a bloodbath is media https://www.niemanlab.org/...
Emily Withrow / @emilywithrow: I'm very, very sad to find that this is my last week at @qz, a beautifully weird and wonderful place I've been happy to call home for the past three years.
Greg Sargent / @theplumlinegs: Memo to the media: Please stop claiming that the Mike Flynn unmasking “boosts” Trump's attacks or “gives him an election issue.” It does not do anything of the sort. Merely by saying that, you're misleading readers and rewarding bad faith. New piece: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Zach Seward / @zseward: It was a really hard day at Quartz. We said goodbye to lots of wonderful people. If you are looking for great colleagues with exceptional talent, I can point you in the right direction. My DMs are open.
Anna Massoglia / @annalecta: Gutted to see @qz lay off so many amazing journalists—@jkeefe, @jeremybmerrill, @hannakozlowska & more. Please hire them so I can continue following their incredible investigative, data & reporting work https://www.nytimes.com/...
@mims: As a proud @qz alumn and superfan of all they've done since I left this is gutting to read - closing 4 offices, 80 layoffs https://talkingbiznews.com/...
@kerrymflynn: Missed this earlier — @qzunion shares that they're still putting together a tentative agreement with management over terms of the layoffs https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Dom / @domdifurio: I can't tell you how many times I've read a Quartz headline and wished I'd thought to write the story. Sad day for a really innovative outlet. https://twitter.com/...
Rahul Fernandes / @newspaperwallah: Layoffs are heart-breaking. It's worse when it happens to journalists in the time of a pandemic — their work has never been more important. But if you have to take hard decisions, here's a gold standard piece of communication, full of compassion & clarity https://talkingbiznews.com/...
Heidi N. Moore / @moorehn: This week has been packed with media layoffs. Very sad about the excellent staff at QZ, which is laying off 80 people and closing 4 offices. For years Quartz has done innovative, modern coverage of business. I hope all the laid-off staffers land well. https://talkingbiznews.com/...
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: Terribly hard message to have to deliver but @zseward did it, I think, in as upright a way as possible. https://talkingbiznews.com/...
Nicholas De Leon / @nicholasadeleon: @ShortFormErnie @harrymccracken I was at The Daily back when the iPad was shiny and new. When we shut down we were allowed to keep our iPads. We were also given three months severance.
Elana Zak / @elanazak: In the memo announcing roughly 80 layoffs, this was perhaps the most surreal line: “We have created a #goodbye channel in Slack for anyone to share farewells and contact information.” https://talkingbiznews.com/...
Carrie Brown / @brizzyc: Ugh. This isn't saying much for our industry, but Quartz is one of the few newsrooms I know of in which most people really seemed genuinely ...happy. Have also pioneered so many new things. https://twitter.com/...
Olivia Messer / @oliviamesser: There are so many things to be devastated about lately, but the effect on our industry is one hitting my heart today. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ernie Smith / @shortformernie: One detail of this that I consider a pretty thoughtful gesture: They're letting employees keep their laptops for the next six months and will eventually be offering them the option to purchase those devices. Most companies do *not* do that, often for security reasons. https://twitter.com/...
Jenni Avins / @jenniavins: A staggering 80 of my fiercely intelligent, hilarious, kind, and generous colleagues were laid off today @qz. I'll share some of their contacts and work. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to call them coworkers too. I'd be jealous https://twitter.com/...
Michael Calderone / @mlcalderone: Good @ThePlumLineGS look at Flynn “unmasking” coverage and the media repeating 2016 mistakes: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
EJ Dionne / @ejdionne: What this “unmasking” story unmasks, says @ThePlumLineGS, is how the media can reinforce false #Trump talking points. “If something doesn't actually ‘boost’ or 'lend fodder, to a big claim that Trump is making, just don't report that it does.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Norman Ornstein / @normornstein: Powerful and depressing by @ThePlumLineGS. It is just maddening that there is no self-correction by so many in media Trump calls Enemy of the People. Malpractice by Axios, et al The 2016 nightmare is already repeating itself - The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Tim Fernholz / @timfernholz: disconsolate that so many fine people are being laid off at @qz today. They made our journalism better. If you can hire them, you should. Omnibus promotion tweets to follow...
@eacrunden: I'm so tired and furious. At this point, many laid off reporters will never hold another media job again. A failure to solve this problem means some of our best are out of work during a global crisis that touches every beat and location. Obscene. https://twitter.com/...
@jason: So tragic: The unemployment contagion is moving from the retail & factory workers to the white collar keyboard crowd... including many members of the media. Yesterday Buzzfeed, today QZ — these jobs are not coming back for 3-5 years 😞 https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Joshua Benton / @jbenton: One detail to note in this very sad news from @qz: They're closing their (no doubt pricey) offices in London, SF, DC, and Hong Kong and having people work from home. Expect a lot more of that as coronavirus further normalizes remote work. https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: You can bet that anyone who worked at @QZ is damned good. https://twitter.com/...
Marty Swant / @martyswant: This is so sad. I've always loved Quartz and the incredibly kind/innovative/creative people that work there. https://twitter.com/...
Alden Wicker / @aldenwicker: I've very much enjoyed writing for the @qz editors and I'm also a voracious reader of their daily newsletter. It's been a part of my life for 7(?) years now. I hope Quartz and smart journalism in general can pull through this. https://twitter.com/...
Elana Zak / @elanazak: Really, really sad to hear about @qz. So many talented journalists are going to lose their jobs. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ashkan Karbasfrooshan / @ashkan: 56/ Subscriptions alone doesn't render you immune to Covid spillover... although I reiterate some companies will use Covid to fix/change/revert decisions they regret, things they want to address. https://www.mediagazer.com/...
S. Mitra Kalita / @mitrakalita: Struggling to find the right words for my @qz family but all I got is that I'm here if you need. Always.
Emily Bell / @emilybell: 80 posts going at @qz , four offices closing. Feel for the journalists losing their jobs and pay who *should* be telling us more about the world everyday instead of shuttering newsrooms https://talkingbiznews.com/...
Gideon Lichfield / @glichfield: I joined @qz at its inception, hired its first writers, watched it grow from a couple of dozen to some 250-strong. My heart goes out to the 80 people laid off today, as well as those who remain and now must reorient and rebuild after losing so many friends and colleagues.😢💔💪 🏼❤️ https://twitter.com/...
Sarah Kessler / @sarahfkessler: Quartz is scrappy and creative and punches above its weight, but it was maybe _best_ at attracting amazingly kind and talented people. Am devastated to see so many of them get laid off today https://twitter.com/...
John Xenakis / @johnxenak: Really bummed to hear this. Loved my time at @qz. Sending love to all those there and at all media companies (and beyond) affected during these times. https://twitter.com/...
Abdi Latif Dahir / @lattif: Very sad to read the news of the layoffs at @qz. It was an honor working with a newsroom full of dedicated and wonderful colleagues for three years. Please reach out if there's anything I can do. Love from Nairobi! https://twitter.com/...
@sona_here: .@qz holds a special place in my heart. It was such a vibrant and exciting place to work. Quartzians, we have your back, and please don't hesitate to reach out if there is anything we can do for you. https://twitter.com/...
Sam Thielman / @samthielman: God I hate this so much. Who cares about the difficulty you face as a company? Companies don't have kids or get depressed. It was a difficult decision for YOU? Show some compassion! You're failing the Turing test! https://twitter.com/...
Dave Gershgorn / @davegershgorn: gutted this morning for all my friends and former colleagues. another newsroom full of sharp, talented journalists hollowed out after an ill-fated acquisition https://twitter.com/...
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
Q&A with The Atlantic's Adrienne LaFrance on Shadowland, the magazine's project on conspiracies, and on its growing audience, with 34K new subscribers in April — “I had people believing outlandish, harmful things who were repeating back to me the values that I, as a journalist, have.
Discussion:
Mustafa Tameez / @mustafatameez: “The pandemic is particularly fertile ground for conspiracists. There is not, as yet, an authoritative, established scientific consensus about the virus and its spread, leaving wide informational gaps for nonsense to fill.” @CJR @Jon_Allsop https://www.cjr.org/...
Patrick Boehler / @mrbaopanrui: The Atlantic added 36,000 new subscribers in March, another 34,000 in April. https://www.niemanlab.org/... h/t @NiemanLab https://twitter.com/...
Elana Zak / @elanazak: Since March, @TheAtlantic has gained nearly 70,000 new subscribers. 36,000 in March and almost 34,000 in April. That's tremendous. https://www.niemanlab.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Scott Nover / @scottnover: 70,000 new subscribers in two months is insane. But, it makes sense. @TheAtlantic did it through great journalism that people couldn't ignore. https://www.niemanlab.org/...
Prashant Rao / @prashantrao: After adding 36,000 new subscribers in March, @TheAtlantic added 34,000 more in April. Read more in @AdrienneLaF's interview in @NiemanLab https://www.niemanlab.org/...
Michael Calderone / @mlcalderone: More from Atlantic's “Shadowland” project, which makes a key point: “The rise of mainstream conspiracism is the result not just of bad information or bad politics or bad thinking, but of systems built to stoke paranoia and to profit from mistrust.” https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
@niemanlab: Executive editor @AdrienneLaF told @SarahScire that while the coronavirus traffic bump peaked before mid-April for most news outlets, The Atlantic gained another 34,000 new subscribers last month. Here's the rest of their conversation 👇 https://www.niemanlab.org/...
Melynda Fuller / MediaPost: ‘The Atlantic’ Launches Immersive ‘Shadowland’ Series, Focuses On Conspiracy Theories
Caroline Mimbs Nyce / The Atlantic: The Atlantic Daily: QAnon Is a New American Religion
Cary Littlejohn / Critical Linking: United States of Conspiracy
Anna Clark / Columbia Journalism Review:
How The Plain Dealer's newsroom came to a close, after years of union member buyouts and staff cuts as management built up its digital-only news operation — As a new intern at the Plain Dealer, Scott Stephens signed his first union card in the summer of 1981. It was a good time to be a journalist in Cleveland.
Discussion:
Jacob Remes / @jacremes: A good labor history of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (z"l). When futures historians—if they exist—write about the destruction of American democracy, stories like this will be a big part of it. https://www.cjr.org/...
Bill Livingston / @livy70: The prestigious Columbia Journalism Review's summary of the effective end of The Plain Dealer, due to unconscionable union-busting. I got out on one of the later choppers from the embassy roof when I retired at 70 in 2018. https://www.cjr.org/...
@cjr: “To those Guild members who came before us: We are sorry,” read the Local One statement. “To the city and people of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio: We will miss you. We did our best.” https://www.cjr.org/...
Ashley Luthern / @aluthern: Growing up in Youngstown, two papers mattered most: The Vindicator and The Plain Dealer. Both names remain but in many ways, both no longer exist. A sincere thank you to the journalists of the @PDNewsguild for serving readers in Ohio & beyond: https://www.cjr.org/...
Professor Jeremy / @jeremyhl: Once great American newspapers are losing the battle for survival. @CJR https://www.cjr.org/... https://twitter.com/...
David Whitford / @davidwhitford: The global health emergency has underscored the importance of newsroom organizing: “Want better protective equipment? You can bargain over that collectively. Want guaranteed sick time? You can bargain that collectively.” https://www.cjr.org/... via @cjr
Chris Roush / Talking Biz News:
The Economist Group is laying off 90 employees, about 7% of its workforce, none of whom are editorial staff, and ending the print edition of the 1843 magazine — The Economist Group said Friday that it is laying off 90 staffers, or just less than 7 percent of its 1,300-person workforce.
Discussion:
Adweek, Press Gazette, @henrymance, @scottnover, @scottnover, @stegersaurus, Folio and MediaPost
Discussion:
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette: Economist Group cuts 90 jobs and stops printing 1843 magazine
Henry Mance / @henrymance: The Economist Group is cutting 90 jobs (out of current total of 1,300), mainly commercial roles. Familiar story - Economist subscriptions doing well, nearly everything else in trouble. 1843, the excellent mag, to go digital-only later this year.
Scott Nover / @scottnover: “'Who said print was dead?' @Adweek asked last year, citing 1843's rebrand as one of many new print titles that had recently popped up. But under the strains of the pandemic and the economic fallout it has caused, 1843's print days are, in fact, dead.” https://www.adweek.com/...
Scott Nover / @scottnover: The second media layoffs story I've published today. It's 12:35 p.m. The Economist Group is laying off non-editorial 90 staffers and shuttering the print version of @1843mag, its lifestyle publication. https://www.adweek.com/...
Isabella Steger / @stegersaurus: “the Economist is shifting 1843, its bi-monthly lifestyle magazine, to a digital-only format starting with the August/September issue” https://twitter.com/...
Melynda Fuller / MediaPost: ‘Economist’ Group Lays Off 90, Takes ‘1843’ Magazine Digital-Only
Wall Street Journal:
How “reputation managers” abuse DMCA notices to remove unwanted links from Google; Google restored 52K+ links and identified 100+ new abusers after a WSJ review — Dubious copyright complaints citing 1998 law led the search giant to make unfavorable articles vanish
Discussion:
MediaPost, @charlesornstein, @adrianweckler, @wsj, @benpershing, @blmohr, @jeffjohnroberts, @nielr1, @annemariebridy, @penenberg, @m_f_rose, @shaneshifflett, @emilybell, @anfuller, @anfuller, @anfuller, @anfuller, @anfuller, @anfuller, Breitbart and Ad Age
Discussion:
Laurie Sullivan / MediaPost: WSJ Identifies Thousands Of Links On Google That Vanished
Charles Ornstein / @charlesornstein: People who don't like how they are portrayed online are using a copyright law to trick Google to erase unfavorable articles. https://www.wsj.com/...
Adrian Weckler / @adrianweckler: Dodgy businessmen get unfavourable news vanished by framing their approach to Google in the right way. Once Google link is removed, 99% of its visibility gone. “People can manipulate the gatekeepers to make important information disappear.” https://www.wsj.com/...
@wsj: The Journal found more than a dozen cases in which supposed media outlets, with names like Arctic Times and Palmdale Herald, got Google to remove links from prominent local news sites and other pages that alleged wrongdoing https://www.wsj.com/...
Ben Pershing / @benpershing: Great reporting here: Google took down legitimate news articles in response to copyright complaints, many of which appear to be bogus, the Journal found. https://www.wsj.com/...
@blmohr: “...hundreds of instances (of) individuals or companies, using apparently fake identities, caused Google to remove links to unfavorable articles & blog posts that alleged wrongdoing by convicted criminals, foreign officials & biz ppl in the U.S. & abroad.” https://www.wsj.com/...
Jeff Roberts / @jeffjohnroberts: Google just restored 52,000 (!) links it removed as a result of bogus DMCA complaints—but only after this WSJ report exposed them https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Annemarie Bridy / @annemariebridy: In which the WSJ discovers that DMCA abuse is really a thing. https://www.wsj.com/...
Adam L. Penenberg / @penenberg: Really strong reporting in this story. https://twitter.com/...
Meredith Rose / @m_f_rose: Cool cool, totally how the law was intended, no negative externalities from instant takedown at all https://www.wsj.com/...
Shane Shifflett / @shaneshifflett: Want to scrub bad news from the internet? File a copyright claim with Google... Great story from @anfuller @KirstenGrind @joe_palazzolo https://www.wsj.com/...
Emily Bell / @emilybell: Google Erases Thousands of Links, Tricked by Phony Complaints - WSJ ...great story , raises many questions about Google's implementation https://www.wsj.com/...
Andrea Fuller / @anfuller: This is continuing even in the era of COVID. We found that Google took down a link to a Vietnamese-language article about some businesses were people were potentially exposed to the virus by COVID-positive tourists. 2/x
Andrea Fuller / @anfuller: After we went to Google, the company restored more than 52,000 web pages it improperly removed (!!!) including the several hundred we spotted. 4/x
Andrea Fuller / @anfuller: Among the victims: a business news site. Local newspapers. An investigative nonprofit in Ukraine. Most of them didn't know that Google had stopped surfacing their articles until we told them 3/x
Andrea Fuller / @anfuller: Our story with @KirstenGrind and @joe_palazzolo here. This was a months-long investigative effort. Please enjoy. 6/6. https://emailshare.cmail19.com/ ...
Andrea Fuller / @anfuller: How does it work? People rip off articles from *real* news sites or other websites, put the copies on an obscure blog, and backdate it. Remember LiveJournal from the early '00s? It's now being used by a bunch of people to file phony copyright re: on Russian-language content. 5/x
Andrea Fuller / @anfuller: A thread: Our investigation found that Google has been removing from search thousands of links based on phony copyright complaints. Among them: news stories about people accused of attempted rape, fraud, companies accused of financial crimes. 1/x
Thomas Grove / Wall Street Journal:
Russia's leading business newspaper Vedomosti, whose founders include WSJ and FT, struggles to stay independent amid allegations of Putin's influence on new EIC — One of the country's last independent voices could soon be stifled as Putin expands political control
Discussion:
@wsj: As Putin's influence grows, a power struggle at the top of Russia's leading business paper threatens to stifle one of the country's last independent voices https://www.wsj.com/...
Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
Sources: NYT is getting under the skin of BuzzFeed staff by raiding BuzzFeed talent and sometimes re-reporting BuzzFeed stories with little credit — Poaching employees and rereporting other outlets' stories is in the Times DNA, and BuzzFeed is now in the crosshairs.
Discussion:
@chefgruel, @aktalkies, @zackkanter, @raju, @jackshafer, @michaelsocolow, @bernstein, @kerrymflynn, @rafat, @alexgiess, @jonahdispatch, @t_fin, @bikehugger, @summeranne, @summeranne, Poynter, @mat, @mimms, @scottlucas, @jackshafer, @jackshafer, @dylanbyers, @dylanbyers and @dylanbyers
Discussion:
Chef Andrew Gruel / @chefgruel: Part of this narrative is true- regarding consolidation (same effect as food supply) but the other part is that these small journalistic startups were supposed to buck the trend with a fresh narrative and many just jumped aboard The NY Times bandwagon, making them less relevant. https://twitter.com/...
Ankur Pathak / @aktalkies: Surreal to read this - only a few years ago you'd think a legacy newspaper would be saying this about a digital startup. How the tables have turned. Great read. https://www.vanityfair.com/...
Zack Kanter / @zackkanter: Sad to see big tech companies like the NYT ($800M ARR) using their market power to crush startups. Independent news outlets are dying and power is consolidating in the hands of a few privileged corporate journalists. https://www.vanityfair.com/...
Raju Narisetti / @raju: The hubris here is something else. “I Feel Like They Are Trying to Murder Us” Struggling BuzzFeed Feels Targeted by @nytimes https://www.vanityfair.com/...? via @VanityFair
Jack Shafer / @jackshafer: I love @joepompeo a bunch, but his framing of this story makes it sound like the NYT is *stealing* BuzzFeed property when all it's doing is hiring journalists. In our business, you're either a mercenary or a slave. https://www.vanityfair.com/...
Michael Socolow / @michaelsocolow: I'm old enough to remember when places like Washington Monthly & @Gawker proudly exploited their underpaid staff by dangling the promise that their work might be noticed, and they might get hired by places like @nytimes https://twitter.com/...
Joe Bernstein / @bernstein: Pointed @jwherrman omission https://www.vanityfair.com/...
@kerrymflynn: “Losing [BuzzFeed deputy EIC Ginny] Hughes to the Times is what appears to have really poured salt into the wound... ‘It is hard not to feel like they are gunning for us on an institutional level,’ one griped to colleagues on Slack.” https://www.vanityfair.com/...
@rafat: That Buzzfeed was besting NYT, even in its heydays, is a conceit only mainstream media reporters held then, as I repeatedly pointed out for years, because BF was the buzzy kid on the block they loved covering. This was *never* true, lets lay that to rest. https://www.vanityfair.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Alexandre Giess / @alexgiess: Glad to see @nytimes is acting more and more like a tech company 😜 https://twitter.com/...
Jonah Goldberg / @jonahdispatch: @jackshafer @joepompeo Funny for 40 years at NR it was a major gripe that working there was an impediment to getting hired in the MSM. The complaint could be overdone: Brooks, Wills et al. But working for TNR or Wash Monthly was a ticket to the bigs. Then in last 10 years that changed. No such sympathy
@t_fin: @jackshafer @joepompeo ‘member back before al gore invented the internet when @nytimes and other dailies would re-report the little guys’ stories and not credit them at all?
@bikehugger: @mat @VanityFair Relatable because Buzzfeed has been trying to murder outlets like mine since they launched. The ad revenue alone, stolen right out of blogger's pockets.
Summer Anne Burton / @summeranne: 👧🏻 🔫 I haven't worked for BuzzFeed for 14 months and this still made me want to scream LOL https://twitter.com/...
Summer Anne Burton / @summeranne: from this which I don't really have an opinion about because I just make cat video listicles and I never hired anyone interesting https://www.vanityfair.com/...
Mat Honan / @mat: “I Feel Like They Are Trying to Murder Us” lol, this story... https://www.vanityfair.com/... via @VanityFair
Sarah Mimms / @mimms: There's a lot of great goss in this piece but come on, this is so lazy. Like at least give me “quizzes and puppy photos.” “Recipes and celebrity butts.” https://www.vanityfair.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Scott Lucas / @scottlucas: Only one thing to say about this story: It contains an all time legendary @katienotopoulos quote https://www.vanityfair.com/...
Jack Shafer / @jackshafer: @joepompeo Finally, one of the things that makes BuzzFeed so “poachable” right now is that for some time it has been contracting. Better to jump than get dumped, right?
Jack Shafer / @jackshafer: @joepompeo As talented as all of the BuzzFeed reporters the NYT has “poached”—and they are talented!—every one of them is replaceable. The journalistic aquifer runs deep and is self-replenishing.
Dylan Byers / @dylanbyers: @joepompeo has NYT PR called yet?
Dylan Byers / @dylanbyers: I think the point is more or less what @benyt wrote in his inaugural NYT column, which is NYT is powerful and gets to use newer digital outlets (Politico, then BuzzFeed) as farm systems. That is their right/privilege/reward for being successful, but I get why it bums out BF folks https://twitter.com/...
Kerry Flynn / CNN:
As outlets learn to operate remotely, distributed newsrooms can attract greater diversity of talent, often lacking in coastal media bubbles — New York (CNN Business)The pandemic forced many journalists who previously crowded around media capitals such as New York City and Washington DC to abandon their offices.
Discussion:
@jowens510, @jessicahuseman, @stphnfwlr, @carolbarash, @frankpallotta, @dicktofel, @jeremymbarr, @media_evan, @kerrymflynn and @kerrymflynn
Discussion:
Jeremy C. Owens / @jowens510: This is great in theory, but requires super strong and talented middle management able to work with a distributed reporter base. Unfortunately, that level of newsroom management that has been absolutely DESTROYED in recent years. Can it be rebuilt on the fly? https://twitter.com/...
Jessica Huseman / @jessicahuseman: *raging applause* https://twitter.com/...
Stephen Fowler / @stphnfwlr: “There's a dime a dozen media on the East Coast, in New York and DC. There's a lot on the West Coast. We feel like it's really important to ensure a diverse set of voices are elevated, and I think that starts with being in the center of the United States,” @eramshaw said. https://twitter.com/...
Carol Barash / @carolbarash: I hope y'all take advantage of this huge opportunity to diversify voices and stories! @NBCNews @CBS @CNN https://twitter.com/...
Frank Pallotta / @frankpallotta: WFH becoming normal would be a welcomed future for the media industry. It obviously comes with challenges (so does working in an office), but as ProPublica president Richard Tofel said “it really does help provide a more national and varied perspective.” https://www.cnn.com/...
Richard Tofel / @dicktofel: Good piece by @kerrymflynn on distributed newsrooms now. Agree there is much great journalism beyond NYC and DC. One word of caution in turning this insight against “the coasts”: 40% of the country lives in coastal counties, 66% in coastal states. https://www.cnn.com/...
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: I think about this sentence for a long time: “I've been in the New York media world for about 20 years now and it can be pretty samesies, right?” https://www.cnn.com/...
Evan DeSimone / @media_evan: People have been predicting the death of New York as a media capital for a decade but this could finally be it. https://www.cnn.com/...
Robert Channick / Chicago Tribune:
Tribune Publishing and the Chicago Tribune Guild agree to a three-week furlough taken in one week increments for all unionized employees making $40K+ — Tribune Publishing and the Chicago Tribune Guild agreed Wednesday to a three-week furlough for all unionized newsroom employees making $40,000 …
Discussion:
Kris Vire / @krisvire: Good thing the stories all of the Trib's reporters are tracking will just pause any further developments while they're forced off the clock, that's definitely how news works, right? https://twitter.com/...
Todd Lighty / @toddlighty: Tribune Publishing CEO Terry Jimenez is giving up 2 weeks salary and taking a 10% cut in his base pay of $575,000. Cry not, his base pay is only 15% of his overall compensation that includes bonuses and stock. Last year, he made more than $1.9 million. https://www.chicagotribune.com/ ...
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
FT has gained 50K new digital subscribers in the past two months, but will institute 10% salary cuts for non-editorial staff making over £50K beginning July 1 — The Financial Times is cutting its spending on non-staff contributors and implementing further cuts to pay and working hours …
Discussion:
Felix Salmon / @felixsalmon: If you slash your freelance budget in a recession, as the FT is doing, those workers aren't making some kind of voluntary “sacrifice”. https://pressgazette.co.uk/... https://twitter.com/...
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