In a reported turn of events, National Geographic released all of its in-house writers from their roles. Moreover, the iconic magazine will cease to grace US newsstands from next year. The Washington Post disclosed that this situation affected nineteen editorial employees. Various staff members also verified this news via Twitter.
According to the Washington Post:
The cutback — the latest in a series under owner Walt Disney Co. — involves some 19 editorial staffers in all, who were notified in April that these terminations were coming. Article assignments will henceforth be contracted out to freelancers or pieced together by editors. The cuts also eliminated the magazine’s small audio department.
Among those who lost their jobs in the latest layoff was Debra Adams Simmons, who only last September was promoted to vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion at National Geographic Media, the entity that oversees the magazine and website.
A former senior writer, Craig Welch, tweeted:
My new National Geographic just arrived, which includes my latest feature—my 16th, and my last as a senior writer.
NatGeo is laying off all of its staff writers.
I’ve been so lucky. I got to work w/incredible journalists and tell important, global stories. It’s been an honor.
National Geographic plans to delegate its future editorial content to freelance writers and a handful of in-house editors that still remain, according to the Post. This development is a result of cost-reduction strategies enforced by Disney, the parent company of the magazine. Consequently, the distinctive yellow-bordered publication will vanish from American newsstands from the coming year.
This disturbing revelation joins a string of massive layoffs that have rattled the media sector in the past few months. Last November saw CNN implementing substantial layoffs throughout different departments. This marked the media giant’s second wave of job cuts for that year, following the discontinuation of its ambitious $100m CNN+ streaming service. A mere three weeks after its launch, the premature closure impacted 350 employees.
