Hundreds of liberal journalists must learn to DoorDash (or mine rare earth minerals) amid long-awaited industry downsizing
NBC News is slashing staff this week as the media network enters the final phase of its impending divorce from MSNBC. Former Politico journalist Dylan Byers reported Wednesday that NBC had begun “significant layoffs,” which former CNN reporter Oliver Darcy described as “deep and painful.” It’s another promising development — on the heels of Donald Trump’s historic Middle East peace deal — that weary Americans can embrace to justify their hope for a better future.
The long-anticipated cuts will affect roughly 150 employees, or 8 percent of the NBC News workforce. Most encouragingly, the network eliminated its “teams dedicated to covering issues affecting Black, Asian American, Latino and LGBTQ+ groups,” prompting howls of outrage from diversity fanatics. Variety reports many of these staffers will be “encouraged” to endure the demeaning process of applying for “new roles” at the network that is letting them go. One NBC employee told Darcy last week the mood within the company had soured considerably, with many anxious liberal journalists “dreading what’s to come.”
The layoffs reflect NBC’s need to downsize after cutting ties with CNBC and MSNBC, soon to be rebranded (in humiliating fashion) as MS NOW. All professional collaboration between the long-time sister networks will cease on Oct. 20, which means the NBC newsgathering operation will have a lot less work to do. Several NBC employees have already accepted transfers to MSNBC ahead of the split, including radical partisans such as Jacob Soboroff, Brandy Zadrozny, and Ryan Reilly, the racial justice reporter who thought ear plugs were rubber bullets.
In addition to staff cuts, the exorbitant salaries of NBC’s on-air “talent” will also require downsizing to account for falling revenue across the industry. Lester Holt, who earns an estimated $10 million as host of NBC Nightly News, may soon face a choice between early retirement and a significant pay cut. The same applies to Savannah Guthrie, who makes a whopping $18 million to co-host the Today show, the once-popular morning program that has shed 20 percent of its under-55 viewing audience over the past year.
Salary reductions are also on the horizon at CNN, which announced its own round of layoffs earlier this year, eliminating more than 200 positions. Newly installed CEO Gunnar Wiedenfels has a reputation as a “ruthless cost cutter” who doesn’t care about feelings. In 2022, as CFO of the cable network’s parent firm, Warner Bros. Discovery, Wiedenfels canceled the release of the woke Batgirl film — hailed by activists for its “Latinx” and transgender representation — in order to write off the $90-million production cost on the company’s taxes. Wiedenfels, who took over in June, is believed to be eying the absurdly high salaries of network personalities such as Anderson Cooper (est. $18 million), Jake Tapper (est. $7.5 million), and Brian Stelter (est. $300,000).
CBS News, under the trailblazing leadership of Free Press founder Bari Weiss, will undergo a “big round of layoffs” by the end of the year, Byers reported. Employees panicked last week when Weiss asked them to write an email explaining what they do all day. According to Darcy, this simple directive “sent waves of anxiety through the newsroom.” Union leaders told their members not to comply to avoid being traumatized. But the layoffs are coming, as are the salary cuts. Celebrity host Gayle King, among others, is unlikely to maintain her exorbitant salary — between $13 million and $15 million — after her contract expires next year.
The long-awaited industry downsizing comes at a time when public trust in the mainstream media is at an all-time low. Liberal journalists — pardon the redundancy — have only themselves to blame. Some network executives may have finally realized something has to change. Filling the airwaves with partisan hacks who openly disdain half the country might not be a viable business strategy. It remains to be seen whether the industry is capable of salvaging its reputation, but the layoffs are a good start.
In the meantime, please keep these precious journalists in your thoughts and prayers.
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