It has been a dramatic week. After President Donald Trump’s trip to the Middle East, NBC News dropped the other shoe, announcing significant cuts to its newsroom headcount.
Retail chains and legacy outlets learned an ugly lesson in recent years: alienate customers with relentless identity-driven coverage and corporate ideology, and the bottom line suffers. Conservatives and customers alike summarized it bluntly: go woke, go broke.
Now NBC News is in the crosshairs as the network pares staff and refocuses operations.
Roughly 150 positions were eliminated on Wednesday after NBC restructured, separating CNBC and MSNBC from NBC News during a Versant spinoff from parent Comcast. Executives pointed to changing business dynamics and a strained media economy as the rationale behind the cuts nationwide.
The report read:
Per a source, the cuts were driven by the fact that NBC News will no longer be providing newsgathering capabilities for CNBC and MSNBC, as well as broader concerns around the overall economic environment for the media sector.
Sources say the reductions were broad and hit multiple news groups, not just a single desk. Among the areas named were Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs and units that focused on LGBTQ coverage, indicating a pullback from identity-focused beats.
Most encouragingly, the network its “teams dedicated to covering issues affecting Black, Asian American, Latino and LGBTQ+ groups,” prompting howls of outrage from diversity fanatics.
It went on, pointing out from the Variety magazine report that those who were laid off “will be ‘encouraged’ to endure the demeaning process of applying for ‘new roles’ at the network that is letting them go.”
NBCUniversal News Group chairman Cesar Conde told staffers in a memo Wednesday the following:
“Today is a hard day. We have had to make some difficult decisions, including the elimination of positions across NBC News. While these decisions are necessary to remain strong as an industry leader, they are not easy and are never taken lightly. We have sought to minimize the number of affected team members, and our teams’ decisions should not be seen as a reflection on our colleagues who will be leaving. We will miss them and their valuable contributions.”
This follows other belt-tightening moves across the industry, including reports earlier in the year that CNN cut roughly 200 positions as it retooled. Legacy outlets are being forced to face declining audiences and ad dollars as alternatives proliferate.
Change is also on the horizon at CBS News after an acquisition and leadership shake-up left the network rethinking its priorities. Puck senior correspondent Dylan Byers has signaled that more restructuring and layoffs are likely as outlets chase profitability.
Say it with me: Go woke, go broke.
