The woke Disney corporation does not just own radio, TV, and movie properties, it also owns several giants in the publishing industry. Now its wide-ranging layoffs of some 7,000 employees has hit the staff at the 135-year-old National Geographic magazine.
According to the Washington Post’s Eric Whemple, Disney’s cost cutting campaign has hit the staff of National Geographic particularly hard a little over a month since it announced plans to cut thousands of jobs.
“The Disney layoffs are penetrating deep into U.S. media. National Geographic magazine has sustained cuts of between 15 and 20 people,” Whemple wrote, adding a statement from the management of the magazine.
“In order to set the National Geographic Magazine and its Digital & Social experiences up for success in the ever-evolving media landscape we face every day, we had to make some tough staffing decisions,” the magazine said in its statement. “We are so grateful to all who have contributed to what the brand is today, and to all those dedicated to keeping this brand — and these experiences — relevant and thriving well into the future.”
The Disney layoffs are penetrating deep into U.S. media. National Geographic magazine has sustained cuts of between 15 and 20 people, and a spokesperson passed along this statement: pic.twitter.com/yLVoPQd1eI
— ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) April 26, 2023
One now former magazine employee confirmed that the rumors of layoffs at National Geographic are true.
Personal news, as they say! My ride at National Geographic will come to an end in June. My job has been eliminated in Disney’s latest round of layoffs. A brief thread:
— Michael Greshko (@michaelgreshko) April 25, 2023
National Geographic is only the latest in a long and growing list of media companies that has shed thousands of employees this year. The list includes VICE Media, Insider, Buzzfeed News, Vox Media, NPR, Gannett, NBC News, E.W. Scripps, and others.
As part of its second wave encompassing up to 4,000 jobs cut, political prognosticator Nate Silver was also terminated by Disney as the company makes to reorganize the FiveThirtyEight blog for which Silver was a featured contributor.
In addition, Disney recently began eliminating top executives at cable sports network ESPN and word is the company plans to start laying off on-air talent starting sometime in the summer.
Disney has owned National Geographic for more than five years.
Since taking control of 21st Century Fox in 2017, Disney also took over the magazine and now owns 73 percent of National Geographic Partners which publishes the magazine that debuted in 1888. The Mouse House also owns Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW), which was formerly known as The Disney Publishing Group and Buena Vista Publishing Group.
DPW also own Marvel Press, Lucasfilm Press, Disney Comics, ESPN Books, ABC Daytime, and many other imprints.
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