id: niemanlab--2020-06-27--“Prior assumptions about our business no longer apply”: Cuts pile up at Vice, Quartz, The Economist,

source: niemanlab

title: “Prior assumptions about our business no longer apply”: Cuts pile up at Vice, Quartz, The Economist, BuzzFeed, and Condé Nast

content:
Hundreds of journalism jobs — primarily , though not exclusively , at digital media outlets — were cut this week , piling up alongside thousands of other media job losses that have accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic ( and joining the more than 20.5 million jobs that have been lost in the U.S. since April ) .
Vice announced Friday that it ’ s laying off 55 employees in the U.S. today and about 100 more globally “ over the coming weeks.
” “ The reality is that some tough decisions had to be made around our digital teams , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a memo to staffers .
“ Currently , our digital organization accounts for around 50 percent of our headcount costs , but only brings in about 21 percent of our revenue.
” Quartz — owned by Japanese media business company Uzabase — announced Thursday that it is laying off 80 employees , almost half its staff ( it had 188 employees as of the end of 2019 ) , and is closing its offices in London , San Francisco , Hong Kong , and Washington , while also trying to find ways to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In a memo to staff , Quartz CEO Zach Seward said that while Quartz had 17,680 paying subscribers as of the end of April — not bad at all since it launched its paywall just a year ago — “ advertising accounts for the bulk of our revenue , and that business has been hit very hard by the effects of coronavirus .
Even after the pandemic recedes , the likely recession to follow could hurt ad revenue for years to come .
Prior assumptions about our business no longer apply.
” ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own salary by 50 percent for the rest of the year , “ and the rest of our executive team — Katie Weber , Tomo Ota , and Katherine Bell — are voluntarily cutting their salaries by 20 % , as well.
” ) The Economist is laying off 90 employees ( from a workforce of 1,300 ) .
None of those jobs were on the editorial side , according to Talking Biz News .
BuzzFeed announced another 20 positions would be put on furlough , though The Guardian reported that furloughed staff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The changes mean BuzzFeed UK office is dropping its coverage of UK news — though will continue to report on matters of “ global interest ” including , apparently , celebrity coverage — and the Australia office has been closed entirely .
Condé Nast — the magazine publishing group once known as “ the Vogue company ” that also includes Wired , GQ , Architectural Digest , Teen Vogue , and its biggest earner , The New Yorker , among others — has laid off about 100 staffers and furloughed another 100 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to laid off employees and will cover healthcare premiums for those who have been furloughed .
At the start of 2020 , Condé Nast had about 6,000 employees worldwide .
At one point , an editor ( and 2018 Nieman Fellow ) said she wished she was in a position to hire her former Wired colleagues — but she ’ d been been laid off herself from Protocol in an earlier round of layoffs attributed to coronavirus .

new_content:
Hundreds of journalism jobs — primarily, though not exclusively, at digital media outlets — were cut this week, piling up alongside thousands of other media job losses that have accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic (and joining the more than 20.5 million jobs that have been lost in the U.S. since April).
This was such a horrible week. Condé Nast: 100 layoffs + 100 furloughs
BuzzFeed: ~ 20 furloughs
Quartz: 80 layoffs
Vice: 155 layoffs
The Economist: 90 layoffs 335 media jobs eliminated. 120 jobs tbd … — Kerry Flynn 🐶 (@kerrymflynn) May 15, 2020
You’ve heard about Quartz and the Vice, but there’s also voluntary buyouts at MPR (the first I’ve heard of from local public radio), the closure of a 30-year-old magazine in Indianapolis and a 41-year-old home and garden magazine in San Diego https://t.co/upOawhOO3F — Kristen Hare (@kristenhare) May 15, 2020
Vice announced Friday that it’s laying off 55 employees in the U.S. today and about 100 more globally “over the coming weeks.” “The reality is that some tough decisions had to be made around our digital teams,” Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc wrote in a memo to staffers. “Currently, our digital organization accounts for around 50 percent of our headcount costs, but only brings in about 21 percent of our revenue.”
This is an unusually blunt explanation, and no longer treats digital as the fast-growing future — just another business line https://t.co/YiBjfX7uLO — Ben Smith (@benyt) May 15, 2020
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://t.co/pB6SgWWn6M — Kerry Flynn 🐶 (@kerrymflynn) May 15, 2020
Quartz — owned by Japanese media business company Uzabase — announced Thursday that it is laying off 80 employees, almost half its staff (it had 188 employees as of the end of 2019), and is closing its offices in London, San Francisco, Hong Kong, and Washington, while also trying to find ways to reduce its rent in New York.
In a memo to staff, Quartz CEO Zach Seward said that while Quartz had 17,680 paying subscribers as of the end of April — not bad at all since it launched its paywall just a year ago — “advertising accounts for the bulk of our revenue, and that business has been hit very hard by the effects of coronavirus. Even after the pandemic recedes, the likely recession to follow could hurt ad revenue for years to come. Prior assumptions about our business no longer apply.” (Seward said he’s cutting his own salary by 50 percent for the rest of the year, “and the rest of our executive team — Katie Weber, Tomo Ota, and Katherine Bell — are voluntarily cutting their salaries by 20%, as well.”)
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://t.co/uOAfzU0Mzu — Elana Zak (@elanazak) May 14, 2020
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://t.co/hUvquisiAU — Anna Massoglia (@annalecta) May 14, 2020
The Economist is laying off 90 employees (from a workforce of 1,300). None of those jobs were on the editorial side, according to Talking Biz News.
BuzzFeed announced another 20 positions would be put on furlough, though The Guardian reported that furloughed staff are “highly unlikely” to return.
The changes mean BuzzFeed UK office is dropping its coverage of UK news — though will continue to report on matters of “global interest” including, apparently, celebrity coverage — and the Australia office has been closed entirely.
1/Very sad Media news. Am told @BuzzFeedNews will no longer be covering local news in the UK or Australia. About 10 staff in UK furloughed; their future unclear. They were told on a conference call after 4pm. Celeb news, social news and investigations will however continue… — Amol Rajan (@amolrajan) May 13, 2020
BuzzFeed News Australia has always been what the company allegedly wanted from a news department: a powerful (yet tiny!) machine that competes with orgs 10x it’s size in a monopolised market. To shut it is shameful, to give the reasoning it has is even moreso. — brad esposito 👁 (@bradesposito) May 13, 2020
I wrote this this morning to spare everyone a lengthy tweet thread. I am so bloody proud of my colleagues. If my work has been useful to you please RT. I’ve worked full-time as a reporter for seven years and this is my website: https://t.co/uDZ2oRs779 pic.twitter.com/j1nMsxBPV7 — Gina Rushton (@ginarush) May 14, 2020
Condé Nast — the magazine publishing group once known as “the Vogue company” that also includes Wired, GQ, Architectural Digest, Teen Vogue, and its biggest earner, The New Yorker, among others — has laid off about 100 staffers and furloughed another 100.
The company is providing severance packages to laid off employees and will cover healthcare premiums for those who have been furloughed. At the start of 2020, Condé Nast had about 6,000 employees worldwide.
Solidarity with good people at Condé Nast. The economic shutdown is temporary, but the harm this thing is doing to journalism, and to individual journalists, feels very permanent. It’s maddening. — Zach Schonfeld (@zzzzaaaacccchhh) May 14, 2020
Update: EiCs were given a ratio of costs/revenue to guide cuts, and after budgets were axed, they cut headcount to meet that ratio. Seems like @NewYorker was the only title that didn't have to make editorial cuts. But still unclear. — Edmund Lee (@edmundlee) May 13, 2020
At one point, an editor (and 2018 Nieman Fellow) said she wished she was in a position to hire her former Wired colleagues — but she’d been been laid off herself from Protocol in an earlier round of layoffs attributed to coronavirus.
Really wishing I was still the editorial director of an ambitious tech news team so I could hire @adavies47 and @parismartineau right now. Whoever is in a position to hire them should immediately. They are both aces and good people who write beautifully and care about journalism. — Emily Dreyfuss (@EmilyDreyfuss) May 13, 2020


id: niemanlab--2020-06-28--“Prior assumptions about our business no longer apply”: Cuts pile up at Vice, Quartz, The Economist,


id: niemanlab--2020-06-28--BuzzFeed News shuts down AM to DM, its morning news show, after Twitter pulls funding

content:
The coronavirus hits just keep coming for BuzzFeed .
Digital ad revenue is down .
Employee pay was cut .
Amazon and Walmart are suspending their commerce marketing deals , which BuzzFeed relies on for ecommerce revenue .
And , yesterday , Twitter pulled funding for its live morning news show AM to DM as well as for a new untitled project .
Although AM to DM has run advertising , Twitter ’ s decision to pull funding was decisive for BuzzFeed , which is suspending production , according to a memo first reported by CNN ’ s Oliver Darcy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cindy Vanegas-Gesuale told staffers that BuzzFeed could not support the show “ without the investment from Twitter.
” The last day for employees working on AM to DM and the other Twitter-funded project will be April 28 .
Darcy was told eight employees would be affected .
“ I am truly sad and sorry about this turn of events , ” Vanegas-Gesuale wrote in the memo .
“ We will be working overtime to revive our partnership with Twitter , and we hope with as much of the current team as possible.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with ad revenue , told CNN they will “ continue to partner with BuzzFeed on the other content collaborations ” they have around the world .
When AM to DM launched in fall 2017 , it was an anchor for what was then a big Twitter push into live video .
BuzzFeed reported the show — originally titled “ MorningFeed ” — was averaging 1 million unique views each day .
The show , which featured Twitter content alongside interviews by original hosts ( and IRL friends ) Saeed Jones and Isaac Fitzgerald @ @ @ @ @ @ @ found one , with a reported 78 percent of daily live viewers under 35 .
By January 2019 , though , it was reaching a much smaller audience , around 400,000 people per episode .
The show ’ s Twitter account has only 27,800 followers , suggesting a smaller core audience .
In mid-2019 , Jones and Fitzgerald left to pursue writing projects and Alex Berg ( previously a supervising producer for the show ) and Zach Stafford took over as co-hosts .
The BuzzFeed News Union posted a statement on Twitter that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hosts , and producers who worked on AM to DM as freelance contractors , leaving them without the benefits and job security provided to their colleagues .
“ A constantly shifting landscape of partnership deals is not a justification for classifying long-term full-time employees as temporary contractors , ” the statement reads .
“ It ’ s not a justification for keeping people in the dark about the status of the projects they work on.
” Jones said the staff on AM to DM “ deserved so much better .
”

new_content:
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MLA
Scire, Sarah. "BuzzFeed News shuts down AM to DM, its morning news show, after Twitter pulls funding." Nieman Journalism Lab. Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, 16 Apr. 2020. Web. 7 Aug. 2023.
APA
Scire, S. (2020, Apr. 16). BuzzFeed News shuts down AM to DM, its morning news show, after Twitter pulls funding. Nieman Journalism Lab. Retrieved August 7, 2023, from https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/04/buzzfeed-news-shuts-down-am-to-dm-its-morning-news-show-after-twitter-pulls-funding/
Chicago
Scire, Sarah. "BuzzFeed News shuts down AM to DM, its morning news show, after Twitter pulls funding." Nieman Journalism Lab. Last modified April 16, 2020. Accessed August 7, 2023. https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/04/buzzfeed-news-shuts-down-am-to-dm-its-morning-news-show-after-twitter-pulls-funding/.
Wikipedia
{{cite web
| url = https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/04/buzzfeed-news-shuts-down-am-to-dm-its-morning-news-show-after-twitter-pulls-funding/
| title = BuzzFeed News shuts down AM to DM, its morning news show, after Twitter pulls funding
| last = Scire
| first = Sarah
| work = [[Nieman Journalism Lab]]
| date = 16 April 2020
| accessdate = 7 August 2023
| ref = {{harvid|Scire|2020}}
}}