The National Geographic magazine lays off the last of its staff writers

The National Geographic magazine, which has been around for 135 years, has laid off its staff writers

The National Geographic magazine, the 135-year-old iconic magazine covering science, exploration, the natural world, and culture, no longer has any writers on its staff.

As per reports, anywhere between 17 to 19 editorial positions have been cut in the latest round of layoffs. This includes all the magazine’s staff writers, its tiny audio department and several editors. The layoffs had been announced in April 2023, and staffers were told that their positions would be eliminated in two months.

Others impacted by the latest cost-cutting measures include several photographers, as contracts which enabled them to “spend months in the field producing the publication’s iconic images,” have now been curtailed.

Future editorial work and assignments will be handled by freelancers, and some digital articles will be created by in-house editors. The magazine currently retains two text editors, some digital-only editors and a few multi-platform editors who handle both. A couple of wildlife watch reporting positions, which are funded separately, are still in existence.

This is the second round of job cuts in nine months, and the fourth since 2015. They are a part of cost-cutting measures adopted by media giant Walt Disney Inc., the magazine’s parent company.

In yet another blow, the cost-cutting will also see the magazine, with its legendary yellow rectangle frame border, no longer being sold on US newsstands starting next year, following an internal announcement to this effect last month.

Editorial shuffling and changes have been the order of the day since ownership changes commenced in 2015. In September 2022, a reorganisation of the editorial department saw six top editors lose their jobs.