Since National Geographic Magazine’s acquisition by 21st Century Fox (led by Rupert Murdoch) last month, the future has been uncertain for the renowned American magazine. Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox purchased a controlling share of the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to become a for-profit model this past October 8th, 2015.
Today, CEO Gary Knell sent out a company-wide email Tuesday morning informing everyone to wait for an email to determine their employment status. What came today was a chopping block that cut the staff down 9% at the magazine with a lot of senior staffers. One of the layoffs was Sherry L. Brukbacher, a Photo Editor at National Geographic who tweeted this earlier today:
Experienced National Geographic Photo Editor looking for employment. Fox merger elim many today. Will miss my amazing colleagues!
— Sherry L. Brukbacher (@SBrukbacher) November 3, 2015
Editor-at-Large Michael Nichols was also let go but wasn’t surprised like some of the staffers who were laid off today. Nichols was given a severance package and a two-year contract to finish a project while the others went on to Twitter to announce their departure.
A spokesperson for National Geographic issued this statement today:
“The National Geographic Society and the National Geographic Channels are in the process of reorganizing in order to move forward strategically following the closing [of] the National Geographic Partners deal, which is expected to occur in mid-November.”
Over the last few years, the magazine’s readership has decreased, and many photographers who were long-time subscribers allowed their subscriptions to lapse because of the waning quality. This new development only pushes the magazine to a closer step over the edge of irrelevance.
To read more about the layoffs read The Guardian article here.
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