In January, over 500 journalists were laid off from various news outlets, reflecting the ongoing financial struggles within the industry.
The layoffs are part of a broader trend, with 3,087 digital, broadcast, and print news jobs lost in 2023.
Tim Franklin, senior associate dean at Northwestern’s Medill journalism school, said, “This is a continuation of the trend of what’s happening throughout last year.”
Over 500 journalists were laid off in January 2024 alone https://t.co/bNtYXx6knC
— POLITICO (@politico) February 1, 2024
“Also, layoffs tend to happen either at the end of the year or the beginning of the year just because a lot of news companies are trying to lay a foundation for the upcoming year,” he continued.
Gabriel Kahn, a professor, said, “We saw a concentration of announcements, but I don’t think it’s a different story than what we’ve been seeing for more than a decade now.”
“The only business plan seems to be to cut and only a few places have really been able to build on something new and different,” he added.
Major layoffs were announced at outlets including NBC News, Time magazine, Business Insider, and The Los Angeles Times.
Union Chair Brian Contreras said LA Times is “gutting our Washington bureau in an election year.”
Tim Franklin said, “What concerns me is with all of these losses and this loss of coverage is that it’s only going to fuel more misinformation and disinformation into communities.”
“How do you then combat that challenge?” asked the dean.
“A lot of the diverse staff members who’ve been hired in recent years have borne the brunt of these recent rounds of layoffs,” Franklin continued.
“And news organizations need more diverse coverage, they need to engage with diverse audiences. This could inhibit their ability to do that, which I think is also a big concern,” he added.
The industry’s ability to sustain robust political coverage during an election year is a concern, and the impact of these layoffs on diverse staff members is significant.
“Part of the issue is that the landscape is changing so rapidly, that the news organizations are trying to change the wheels on the plane as it’s flying, which is also a challenge,” explained Franklin.
While there is no single solution to prevent layoffs, some news organizations with local ownership or reader-revenue-based models have seen success in addressing these challenges.
