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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The Morning After: Meta could launch a Twitter competitor next month

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[ Engadget | 2023-05-22 11:15:43 UTC ]
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Kraft increases investment in its digital media mix with a focus on nostalgia and millennial parents

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[ Digiday | 2023-05-22 04:01:00 UTC ]
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Meta’s rumored Twitter competitor could launch as early as next month

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[ Engadget | 2023-05-19 18:16:25 UTC ]
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After layoffs and an AI scandal, CNET's staff is unionizing

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[ Engadget | 2023-05-16 16:13:18 UTC ]
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Vice Media files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the latest in a string of digital media setbacks

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'New York Times' reports slower digital subscription growth and weakening ad revenue

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Condé Nast Unveils Expanded Digital Video Slate During NewFronts

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One Year After Removing Its Paywall, Quartz’s Traffic Continues to Drop

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Nick Johnson, influential digital media ad leader, dies at 55

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