National Geographic Partners laid off people at its media properties Tuesday. “The personnel changes made were part of an effort to realign resources and create efficiencies in line with an evolving media environment,” National Geographic spokesperson Laura Nichols tells Washingtonian. Nichols declined to address specifics.
I’ve heard there may be around two dozen cuts and that several newsroom positions and a photo department position were eliminated. I also hear the editorial QA team, which maintains quality on NatGeo’s website, and the photo side of its rights clearance department were especially hard hit. (Know more? Email me.)
National Geographic Partners has laid off a good number of people since 21st Century Fox bought the National Geographic Society’s media properties in 2015. In November 2015 it announced plans to lay off about 180 people, and other layoffs have followed in less eyebrow-raising numbers. Immediately after the sale, Fox told Washingtonian it had no plans to interfere with the publication’s editorial content.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
