System/Policy
WBUR will reduce staff by more than 30 through layoffs, buyouts
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The station will also transition its daily news podcast to weekly.
Current (https://current.org/tag/layoffs/)
The station will also transition its daily news podcast to weekly.
The restructuring included layoffs and cuts to local programming.
The job cuts affected staff working in children’s media, local news and the Interactive Engagement Group, among other units.
In an email to staff, outgoing CEO Matt Moog and board chair Robert Pasin said that revenues “are not growing to support our mission.”
APM Studios will move away from being a standalone podcast studio.
The cuts affected staff in CPR’s audio and podcast production departments.
Management shared a “new strategic framework” with staff Friday.
The positions affected were in marketing, membership and television production and did not include the news department.
The public TV station’s board had previously announced a $1.5 million budget cut after discoveries of financial mismanagement.
The cuts primarily affected roles within WNYC Studios, the division that houses the organization’s podcasts.
The station said work on three projects over the past five years coincided with “economic uncertainty.”
“We are reallocating resources to prioritize our digital offerings and capabilities,” a spokesperson said.
The layoffs affected “teams including marketing, station services, training, and technology and advertising operations.”
“WBHM unfortunately needed to reduce our team in order to remain financially sustainable,” Executive Director William Dahlberg said.
In addition to cutting 10% of its workforce, the network is eliminating more than 80 vacant positions.
Production of the podcasts will end after their current seasons.
The stations serving western Massachusetts are downsizing in response to “serious financial headwinds” that began during the pandemic.
NPR will cut 10% of its staff, CEO John Lansing told employees.
“We are no longer able to sustain support of In the Dark and we are immediately beginning to explore opportunities to find a new home — either for the entire enterprise, outside of APMG or for the talented journalists, within APMG,” a spokesperson said.
The station’s revenue has declined amid the pandemic due to “a large dip” in sponsorship.