CBS News is doing so well it's laying off 6% of staff

As part of its unending restructuring, the very savvy business billionaires at CBS News are putting more people out of work. 

CBS News is doing so well it's laying off 6% of staff

With a new crop of forever wars, environmental catastrophes, and flagrant government corruption to report on, one would think that the news business is booming. Unfortunately, as tech’s savviest billionaires and their sons consolidate and hollow out what remains of American media, only Grok will be left to report that the world has ended. Driving us closer to that dystopian nightmare, Bari Weiss’ CBS News, hot off of its latest ratings dips, is set to slash 6% of its workforce, Variety reports. This morning, Weiss and CBS News President Tom Bibrowski sent a memo to employees, informing them that they are “reducing the size of our workforce.” The company is “pressing forward with ambitious plans to grow and invest,” and by “grow and invest” they mean “some of our newsroom must get smaller.” Still, the company promises to treat all affected “with care and respect.” That’s sweet. 

“It’s no secret that the news business is changing radically, and that we need to change along with it,” the note reads (per Zeteo’s Justin Baragona). “New audiences are burgeoning in new places, and we are pressing forward with ambitious plans to grow and invest so that we can be there for them. That means some parts of our newsroom must get smaller to make room for the things we must build to remain competitive. But these are very hard choices and today is a difficult day.”

“This is a tough message to receive at any time, and especially in the middle of an exceptionally intense news cycle,” it reads. “We’re so grateful to all of you, and we thank you for handling this difficult news with compassion.”

We say this with compassion: It really hasn’t been CBS News’ day, week, month, or year. Since coming to power, Weiss has ushered in a new era of CBS News that kneecaps 60 Minutes, asks viewers to please clap for Marco Rubio, but lets lead anchor Tony Dokoupil call his mother whenever he wants. Apparently, viewers don’t care how much CBS loves America because CBS News’ viewership numbers fell below the previous low that started this mess. Adding to Weiss’ overcrowded plate, CBS News 24/7 journalists staged a 24-hour walkout to pressure Paramount into a fair contract. 

All this ignores the elephant in the room: Paramount Skydance owner David Ellison just committed to a $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Of course, most of that is his daddy’s, Jared Kushner’s and Saudi money, which is just smart business. It’s a good thing billionaires don’t believe in introspection. We’d hate for them to learn something from all this. Or worse, feel regret or remorse for ruining so many lives and the world. 

Happy Whiskey Fridays With Tony Dokoupil, y’all!

 

 

 
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