{"id":1763422,"date":"2022-12-05T11:57:22","date_gmt":"2022-12-05T16:57:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1763422"},"modified":"2022-12-05T12:03:33","modified_gmt":"2022-12-05T17:03:33","slug":"from-cnn-to-gannett-media-industry-laying-off-workers-amid-recession-fears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/from-cnn-to-gannett-media-industry-laying-off-workers-amid-recession-fears\/","title":{"rendered":"From CNN to Gannett: Media Industry Laying Off Workers Amid Recession Fears"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffrom-cnn-to-gannett-media-industry-laying-off-workers-amid-recession-fears%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1763422&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/cnn-hq-1200x800-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>It is not only the tech sector that is going through industrywide <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-layoffs\">layoffs<\/a> and hiring freezes. A growing number of media outlets are firing staff and implementing a broad array of cost-cutting measures in response to recession fears, falling advertising revenue, and annual losses. From <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-cnn\">CNN<\/a> to Gannett, more businesses are expected to announce a reduction in headcounts in the coming months.<\/p>\n<h2>Overhauling CNN Heading Into 2023<\/h2>\n<p>Since Chris Licht took over from Jeff Zucker as CEO following the merger between Discovery and WarnerMedia this past spring, there has been buzz surrounding CNN\u2019s editorial direction. Licht has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/a289eb16-6aa4-4b4e-831a-aa4663b7c9fd\">dismissed<\/a> suggestions that he wants CNN to be \u201cvanilla\u201d and \u201ccentrist.\u201d In an early memo to employees this past summer, he\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/media\/3524775-cnn-readies-for-town-hall-at-turbulent-time\/\">noted<\/a> that CNN is \u201cfocused on informing, not alarming, our viewers.\u201d Licht has employed various personnel and programming changes over the last several months.<\/p>\n<p>One of his first decisions involved terminating network personalities John Harwood, Brian Stelter, and Jeffrey Toobin. He would later announce the departure of Michael Bass, a top programming executive at the news network.<\/p>\n<p>CNN <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2022\/12\/01\/media\/cnn-layoffs\/index.html\">announced<\/a> that it would lay off nearly 400 staffers, amounting to a single-digit percentage of its roughly 4,400 employees. Some of the names who received pink slips included on-air staff, such as Chris Cillizza, Alex Field, Mary Ann Fox, Alison Kosik, and Martin Savidge. In addition, Licht eliminated all of the\u00a0live programming at sister station HLN, which involved ousting long-time anchor Robin Meade.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn some areas, we will rely more on our CNN journalists,\u201d Licht said in a memo obtained by the New York Post. \u201cOverall, we will engage contributors who are subject-matter experts that expand and diversify the viewpoints we bring our audience. Our goal throughout the strategic review process has been to better align our people, processes, and resources with our future priorities, strengthen our ability to deliver on CNN\u2019s core journalistic mission, and enable us to innovate in the years ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the highest level, the goal is to direct our resources to best serve and grow audiences for our core news programming and products,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>This may not be the end of Licht\u2019s shakeup. In an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2022\/10\/26\/media\/cnn-employees-reliable-sources\/index.html\">October memo<\/a>, for example, Licht warned that more layoffs would be coming as he attempts to cut as much as $100 million from the network\u2019s budget amid \u201cwidespread concern over the global economic outlook.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll this together will mean noticeable change to this organization. That, by definition, is unsettling,\u201d he stated \u201cThese changes will not be easy because they will affect people, budgets, and projects.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Gannett Slashing Headcount<\/h2>\n<p>Gannett, the largest newspaper chain in the United States, is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/12\/01\/business\/media\/gannett-layoffs.html\">slashing<\/a> approximately 6 percent of its U.S. media division workforce of 3,440 as part of cost-cutting efforts.<\/p>\n<p>The company signaled its measures in August when it cut about 400 jobs and noted that it would not fill hundreds of open positions. Two months later, Gannett announced additional spending cuts, including requiring workers to take unpaid leave and offering voluntary buyouts.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, Henry Faure Walker, chief executive of Gannett\u2019s British media group, Newsquest, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.poynter.org\/business-work\/2022\/gannett-tells-its-news-division-that-more-layoffs-are-coming-dec-1\/\">warned<\/a> that the corporation was \u201cnot immune to the economic conditions many industries and companies are facing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gannett, which owns USA Today, The Detroit Free Press, The Indianapolis Star, and dozens of other local media outlets, has seen its share price tank this year. Year to date, the stock has cratered more than 53 percent.<\/p>\n<h2>NPR Avoids Layoffs<\/h2>\n<p>For now, National Public Radio (NPR) will avoid layoffs as it attempts to cut approximately $10 million from the current fiscal year ending Sept. 30, the company announced on Nov. 30.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, NPR will be prioritizing staff and imposing \u201cclose to a total hiring freeze,\u201d though CEO John Lansing acknowledged the strain this would place on the current crop of journalists and non-newsroom employees.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs we did during the pandemic, we are prioritizing our staff and not anticipating layoffs at this time,\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2022\/11\/30\/1139888190\/npr-budget-shortfall-20-million\">wrote<\/a> in a memo to staff. \u201cIt means we won\u2019t have the skills and support of the people who would have been in the roles that must remain vacant. For those working long and stressful hours, that is not good news. But it is a reality we can\u2019t avoid if we are to save jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>NPR will also reduce discretionary spending and non-essential travel.<\/p>\n<h2>Media Industry Adapting to New Environment<\/h2>\n<p>The Washington Post recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/media\/2022\/11\/30\/washington-post-magazine-ends\/\">announced<\/a> that it would end its Sunday Magazine print edition, resulting in 10 employees losing their jobs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will end the print Sunday Magazine in its current form as we continue to undergo our global and digital transformation,\u201d Washington Post executive editor Sally Buzbee said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>The Walt Disney Company, which maintains a workforce of about 190,000, will execute job cuts and a targeted hiring freeze. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2022\/11\/11\/disney-plans-hiring-freeze-job-cuts-memo-says.html\">memo<\/a> from (then) CEO Bob Chapek also revealed that executive business travel would be limited to only essential trips, and other meetings should be completed virtually as much as possible. In the meantime, the company will create \u201ca cost structure taskforce\u201d that will be led by Chapek, CFO Christine McCarthy, and General Counsel Horacio Gutierrez. (Chapek was later replaced as CEO by Bob Iger.)<\/p>\n<p>Paramount Global started its job-cutting campaign last week, focusing on its advertising sales department, Deadline <a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2022\/11\/cbs-studios-paramount-tv-studios-layoffs-paramount-plus-originals-1235185002\/\">reported<\/a>. As a result, as many as 100 workers have been let go. This had been widely anticipated during the company\u2019s third-quarter earnings call with market analysts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are all aware of the ongoing macroeconomic pressures that continue to affect our industry and the ad market in particular,\u201d said Paramount CEO Bob Bakish. \u201cAs we navigate this period, Paramount will continue to rely on the fiscally disciplined approach that has been our advantage in good times and bad. We have always been mindful of cost management as a company, and we are now taking additional steps to improve efficiency across our organization.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even the smaller outfits are struggling. Axios <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2022\/12\/01\/recount-shutdown-layoffs-journalism-recession\">reported<\/a> that left-wing video news outlet The Recount told employees that it could soon suspend operations as it bleeds money. Reportedly, The Recount, which was launched by journalists John Battelle and John Heilemann in 2018, lost $10 million last year and has struggled to remain profitable.<\/p>\n<h2>The Decline in Ad Spending<\/h2>\n<p>A crucial part of the media cutting jobs has been the fall in ad spending.<\/p>\n<p>According to Standard Media Index\u2019s (SMI) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.standardmediaindex.com\/insights\/u-s-smi-core-release-note-october-2022\/\">October 2022 Core Data report<\/a>, ad spending fell for the fifth straight month, down 3 percent year over year.<\/p>\n<p>Magna, a media investment firm that is part of Interpublic Group of Cos.\u2019 Mediabrands, <a href=\"https:\/\/magnaglobal.com\/traditional-media-resilient-through-economic-uncertainty-social-media-stalls-under-headwinds\/\">lowered its ad spending forecast growth<\/a> for nearly every category in 2023. Analysts projected that ad revenues would grow 4.8 percent next year, down from its June estimate of 6.3 percent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe economy has slowed down more than expected six months ago, which was partly mitigated in the U.S. because political spending was even stronger than expected six months ago,\u201d said Vincent L\u00e9tang, executive vice president of global market research at Magna and author of the report. \u201cOf course, it\u2019s not going to help when it comes to 2023. We\u2019ve reduced the growth expectation for almost every media category for next year, but we still expect that the market will stabilize and not fall.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>GroupM, a mediate and data behemoth, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.groupm.com\/this-year-next-year-global-2022-end-of-year-forecast\/\">anticipates<\/a> that global ad revenues will increase 5.9 percent in 2023, down from its previous prediction of 6.4 percent.<\/p>\n<p>While the international advertising industry is not emulating the downtown of 2008 and 2001, most companies are \u201cvoicing caution,\u201d according to GroupM\u2019s\u00a0Kate Scott-Dawkins, the global director of business intelligence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is not only the tech sector that is going through industrywide layoffs and hiring freezes. A growing number of media outlets are firing staff and implementing a broad array<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1763425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1763422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1763422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1763422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1763422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1763425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1763422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1763422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1763422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}