Big media layoffs this year, get woke go broke?

[Ark]

Vice, -250 journalists

Buzzfeed, -250 journalists

Verizon/AOL/Huffpo, -800 journalists

Gannet (USA today, others), -400 journalists

https://www.businessinsider.com/2019-media-layoffs-job-cuts-at-buzzfeed-huffpost-vice-details-2019-2 2,100 media layoffs and counting in 2019

The meme response has been...exquisite.

 

[wtburnette]

I love the "Lean to Code" meme, that's awesome...

 

[tsm]

IMHO, journalists report news factually, accurately and without bias, so I’m doubtful those let go included any actual journalists. Propagandists perhaps?

 

[KLB]

IMHO, journalists report news factually, accurately and without bias, so I’m doubtful those let go included any actual journalists. Propagandists perhaps?

Some were from actual newspapers. It is possible some of them were

 

[jamil]

I love the "Lean to Code" meme, that's awesome...

The elitist attitude prevented them from seeing the irony, after they essentially told coal minors to learn to code as the left cheered thise jobs going away. Seeing these “journalists” great buthurt, knowing they cannot comprehend why, makes the freudenschade more enjoyable than it should be. It feels just though.

 

[jamil]

Get woke go broke? Well, it kinda was that. It seems most of the ones let go were opinion writers. And mostly the “woke” ones. But, that isn’t really the reason they had to cut their workforce. They were buying clicks, to make it appear to investers And advertisers that they were producing content that’s getting a lot of clicks. That imploded and their business model fell apart.

So really, get woke, go broke doesn’t necessarily apply to the media companies at least not in the way it apllied to the people they chose to ****can. They went broke due to a faulty business model. Their revenue depends on clicks. When they couldn’t fake the clicks anymore, well, **** just fell apart.

It’s worth noting that the moderate left and moderate right digital media and independent journalists appear to be doing fine. So I guess “get woke go broke” at least applies a little across the board in that extremist content doesn’t sell all that well. Bat **** crazies and wing nutters aren’t that big of a draw. Apparently.

 

[BugI02]

IMO algorithms have gotten sophisticated enough to take a few facts, combine them with SJW buzzwords and churn out formulaic anti-Trump propaganda. Not paying humans to do what machines can do (or foreign cheap labor using machine translation) is just a business decision. Their own little singularity

Bon Appétit

 

[terrehautian]

Even those companies not on that list are making cuts. I was in the technical area of a local tv station, was there for 17.5 years. Always went with the punches no matter how annoying or bad they were. Then in November 1st I was taken to the conference room, told my job had been eliminated due to the economy and walked out. It sucked, especially since my wife was (and is) pregnant. At least my job wasn’t our main income. They got rid of close to 50 years experience between 3 people in two days.

My wife is getting close to giving birth, she goes on leave this week. I know somehow we will survive no income for three months and even if I get a job, I can’t replace a nurses salary. I did apply for a job at the other tv station in town doing what I did. I figure that will give me time to figure out what I want to do in the long run. At least my financial responsibilities (car payment and insurance is caught up until at least June).

 

[HoughMade]

That they had that many "journalists" to RIF shows how incredibly bloated these organizations were to begin with.

 

[jamil]

It wasn’t only journalists. Some IT and support people were let go too. But mostly “opinion” journalists were let go this go-round.

 

[wtburnette]

The elitist attitude prevented them from seeing the irony, after they essentially told coal minors to learn to code as the left cheered thise jobs going away. Seeing these “journalists” great buthurt, knowing they cannot comprehend why, makes the freudenschade more enjoyable than it should be. It feels just though.

The other part of this is the part of "coders understand true/false" that some people have been responding with. I find it truly amusing.

 

[jsx1043]

I find the whole thing deliciously hilarious and current-state commentarily sad. They wanted to dish it out in ‘13 when the mines were closing and told out-of-work miners that they “should learn how to code” and change with the times (to which many of them did, or took on other positions in IT).

Now that the shoe is on the other foot, they are apoplectic and utterly convinced that “learn how to code” is a right-wing conspiracy to demean them and have conveniently forgotten their own advice.

 

[jamil]

Problem is, not everyone is suited for coding. I used to tutor college kids who had to take a basic programming class as part of their business degree. Many just couldn’t get it.

It was naive to tell coal minors to kearn to code and expect that coding is universally understandable. Some did learn to code or learned IT/networking skills. But it’s not for everyone. Thise journalists needed to have that thrown back in their faces but they’re too dense and narcissistic to learn the lesson.

 

[Spear Dane]

I would not expect many of these folks to have the logical and critical thinking skills necessary to be coders.

 

[jamil]

I would not expect many of these folks to have the logical and critical thinking skills necessary to be coders.

Well. I think if you have a general aptitude for math and science, logical thinking, etcetera, and you have a good ability to mentally construct systems, and you find such things enjoyable as well as working with computers, you might be successful at a career in coding.

Journalists traditionally major in English and journalism. Their focus is reading and writing. Some of them may also have the aptitudes and interests described above and be successful at coding. Most, though, will probably be like the business students I tutored and they’ll just not get it, and will even hate it. If you have to be tutored to pass a basic programming class, that’s not gonna be a successful career for you.

 

[HoughMade]

Ask a journalism student why they want to be a journalist and something like 90+% will spout something about wanting to change the world or make the world a better place.

A comparative few will talk about informing the people so that they can make their own considered decisions.

Simply put, we don't need that many people telling us the way things should be, but we could use a few more telling us what is happening without bias or spin.

 

[jamil]

Oh, don’t get me started on world-changers. Far too many of them fail the “am I full of ****” test.

 

[jamil]

We’d be better off if more journalists would be deplatformed by firing them. If there is one journalist whose deplatforming would benefit society most, it’s probably Ezra Kline.

 

[Leadeye]

Could be that they undid themselves by all having essentially the same viewpoint. From a business perspective you really don't 10 people to say the same thing when you can pay one to say it and just copy that.

Always follow the money

 

[Spear Dane]

Could be that they undid themselves by all having essentially the same viewpoint. From a business perspective you really don't 10 people to say the same thing when you can pay one to say it and just copy that.

Always follow the money

These companies ARE following the money, that's why 2,100 people are out of a job. Turns out the vast majority of people don't give two poops about the bs they were writing about.