These are dark days for the mainstream media. Or, more properly, these are dark days for the people who work in the mainstream media.
AFP reports the latest layoff news:
ABC News said Tuesday that it plans to substantially cut its staff as part of a “fundamental transformation” of the news division at the Walt Disney-owned US television network.
ABC News president David Westin, in an email to ABC News employees, said all news department staffers would receive buyout offers in the next few days.
“The response to this voluntary program will determine the extent to which we will need to make further reductions,” he said.
Westin did not say how many jobs the company was seeking to eliminate but he said the restructuring of the news operation to take advantage of digital technology will result in “substantially fewer” people on staff at ABC News.
The Los Angeles Times, citing unidentified newsroom employees, said the network was looking to cut as many as 300 jobs, or around 20 percent of its total staff of around 1,400. The New York Times put the figure at up to 400.
Diane Sawyer didn’t get laid off, did she? No? She’s still safe? OK, then all is still right with the world.
Source: AFP
