Pink slips make news at US media outlets

From CNN to the Washington Post, US media is facing tough times as a series of outlets have announced layoffs this winter amid fears of an economic downturn.

Vox Media, owner of Vox and The Verge websites as well as the landmark New York Magazine and its online platforms, has announced it was letting go of 7% of its staff, which would mean some 130 out of the group's 1,900 staff.

The news follows layoffs at CNN, NBC, MSNBC, Buzzfeed and other outlets.


In a memo to staff on Friday, Vox Media chief executive Jim Bankoff announced "the difficult decision to eliminate roughly 7% of our staff roles across departments due to the challenging economic environment impacting our business and industry."

Journalists who were laid off from other organisations in recent weeks have taken to Twitter to express anger, dismay, or gratitude to their colleagues, while beginning to look for a new job.

A similar announcement is dreaded at the Washington Post, where CEO Fred Ryan warned last month that "a number of positions" will be cut in the following weeks, adding that the layoffs would affect "a single digit percentage of our employee base" of some 2,500 people.

In recent months, CNN has laid off an estimated several hundred workers out of a total of some 4,000 people, according to US media.

While media layoffs were not as dramatic as those rocking tech giants, they were a consequence of falling advertising revenue amid a gloomy economic climate, said Chris Roush, dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University. Newsroom employment has seen a steady decline in the US.