Protocol layoffs raise some troubling questions

When Protocol, a new site focusing on technology coverage, launched in February, expectations were high. After all, the man behind the site—Robert Allbritton, who owns it through his holding company, Capital News—also helped create Politico, one of the most successful digital media companies of the last 20 years or so. And it sounded like Protocol was going to duplicate the Politico model: hire a bunch of talented writers away from leading publications, set them loose on a topic, and then rely on a combination of advertising and high-end subscription revenue to pay the bills. Lather, rinse and repeat until it works. Except that’s not what happened. This week, Protocol laid off 13 of its employees, according to one report, and it appears that more than three-quarters of that total—or 10 staff in all—were reporters and editors. The site’s entire complement of editors and reporters numbered about 25 before the layoffs, according to Protocol‘s About page, which means that Allbritton just laid off almost half of the site’s newsroom. Obviously, no one in the media industry could plan for the pandemic, and it has thrown a wrench into the revenue plans of virtually every news publisher out there, big or small. Companies have been cutting salaries, putting reporters and editors on paid leave, and taking other steps to curb their spending in the hope that they can survive the virus-triggered downturn in advertising. But it’s difficult to think of a publisher that has taken the kind... Continue reading at 'Columbia Journalism Review'

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-04-23 11:45:31 UTC ]

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‘Turbo-charge a legacy newsroom’: A Q&A with Fortune’s new editor in chief Alyson Shontell

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[ Digiday | 2021-09-28 04:01:00 UTC ]
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Goldman Sachs, Ozy Media and a $40 Million Conference Call Gone Wrong

The digital media company has raised eyebrows for its claims about its audience size for years. Then came the strange voice on the phone. Continue reading at The New York Times

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The Morning After: China’s tech crackdown reaches TikTok

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[ Engadget | 2021-09-21 11:15:22 UTC ]
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Introduction to Alabama Inno; who we are, what we do, why we're here

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Media Buying Briefing: As the auto industry shifts its priorities, digital media buying slides into the driver’s seat

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[ Digiday | 2021-09-13 04:05:00 UTC ]
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‘No one even notices a banner ad anymore’: Marketers see post-pandemic value in out-of-home advertising

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Jones, Mairena, Stewart Join 'PW'; Morris Up in Digital Dept.

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4 Takeaways From Top Publishers’ Earnings Reports This Week

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The eviction moratorium, the child tax credit, and the episodic poverty news cycle

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Getting the ‘vaccine mandates’ story right

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Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, and the media’s coverage of mental health in sports

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Ad Tracker Tool to Improve Advertisers’ Digital Media Carbon Footprint

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Cheat Sheet: How Mozilla aims to reveal the nature of consumer data collection with Rally

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Cheat Sheet: BuzzFeed will go public via SPAC IPO to fuel acquisitions, the first one being Complex Networks

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BuzzFeed Confirms Plans to Go Public Through SPAC Deal

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BuzzFeed valued at $1.5bn in deal to go public via special-purpose merger

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