ABC News to cut half its domestic correspondents, close bricks-and-mortar bureaus [Updated]

As part of the deep cuts announced this week at ABC News, the network plans to close all of its physical bureaus around the country except Washington and halve the number of its domestic correspondents.

ABC News President David Westin confirmed in an interview Friday that the network's ranks of bureau correspondents, which currently number several dozen, would be cut in half and be replaced with "digital" journalists who would be expected to shoot and edit their own stories.

“We will have as many total journalists as we do now,” he said.

Although the network will keep a minimal staff presence in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami and Boston, it will shut down its bricks-and-mortar bureaus there and ask its remaining employees to work from the local affiliates. The Washington bureau will remain open, but its size will be substantially reduced.

[Updated at 1:10 p.m.: Kate O'Brian, ABC's senior vice president of news, said that although the network eventually plans to shut down its physical bureaus in the long term, it is still examining all of its leases and is not going to immediately vacate all offices. The news division has not yet approached affiliates about housing network correspondents, but has found that model works in Denver and Detroit.]

The mood was grim in Los Angeles, the largest bureau outside of Washington. The 40-plus staffers were told this week that only a few producers would remain and only two correspondents would be assigned to cover the West, down from a total of six who work out of Dallas, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Many functions that had been done out of the bureau will be handled by a “logistics desk” in New York. Demoralized employees, who did not want to be quoted by name for fear of losing their jobs, said the severity of the cuts would make it nearly impossible to swarm major stories such as the perennial wildfires in Southern California.

Westin said the network would cope with the reduced manpower on breaking news stories by hiring freelance crews and making use of its expanded team of digital journalists, staffers who would be able to handle multiple tasks. Although a majority of stories will still be covered by traditional four-person crews, Westin said he expected a “plurality” of pieces would be done by people shooting and editing their own video. The digital journalists will be stationed in two-person teams around the country.

“I’m sure we will learn more as we go forward, but we have enough experience to be quite confident that we can not only maintain but in some cases enhance our editorial quality,” he said.

This week, the network began sending out letters offering voluntary buyouts to all nonunion employees, and is posting openings of the new digital journalism positions.

“This is a really big change,” Westin said. “Some people are going to embrace it and some people will believe it won’t work. I respect both those groups of people. It’s a question of who wants to work here in the way we’re going to change the place. ... I’m quite confident we will have enough people who are enthusiastic and up to the task.”

-- Matea Gold

Comments

[sissy smith]

i would love to see all the major networks go under and have new ones start that actually investigate and report the news. i boycott ABC all together b/c i hate The View and all the other liberal far left shows.

[sissy smith]

i would love to see all the major networks go under and have new ones start that actually investigate and report the news. i boycott ABC all together b/c i hate The View and all the other liberal far left shows.

[wizard4]

ABC, don't worry. The tele-prompter at the White House will fax the "news" over to the tele-prompter at the studio. All set!

[ssquared]

Too bad for the local bureau staffers but as someone else posted, the Networks are reaping what they sewed.

Their biased reporting and stories based on how the Networks believe the world should be and think has earned them a "F" from their viewers and that, as they say, is show business.

GOOD RIDDANCE!

[Dennis]

This will happen to the other networks (already have to some extent) and ,of course, the najor newpapers are also declining quickly as people rely on, and trust less and less the MSM...I once wanted to become a journalist and now I'm glad I didn't. The disgraceful way that they have thrown in with the left is pitiful! Notice too, that many out-of-work (or soon to be) journalists are going to work in the Obama Administration. They should feel right at home...The only thing changing about their stories will be the letterhead...

[hahaha]

Maybe FOX will hire them to sweep the floors..............hahahahahahaha

[Steevo]

Good news. Its always encouraging to see the elite liberal/left fall.

[Jason]

“We will have as many total journalists as we do now,” he said. "

So basically they're going from none to fewer than none.

[Wil]

Yes, the internet is helping to kill off the arrogant, self-important, extraordinarily dishonest MSM, but not simply because there are more news outlets. It is happening because the internet has finally allowed people to see how profoundly they have been used and lied to by the MSM, for years.

As the MSM dies off, we will see the Republicans grow and the Democrats shrink in America. This is because the hundreds of millions of dollars worth of daily attacks and lying smears on Republicans, and the daily glowing hero-stories and adoring puff-pieces on Democrats, will be greatly reduced. The MSM will not be in a position to abuse their positions in order to brainwash people in favor of hard-left liberalism. It is going to be a real pleasure to watch.

Also, it is just a matter of time before the LA Times and the NY Times shrink, and possibly go belly up. That will also be a real pleasure to watch.

[WhatHappenedtoNews]

Wow, more layoffs of lower level employees and managers who put the company in such poor shape still saying I can fix this if you left me stay. Digital journalist; MMJ; Backpack Journalist; and monkeys on skates with camera can not overcome POOR management. Why pay for the license to broadcast when you give away free on the internet?

[Stacy Harris]

Seems like they're trying to finesse this.

[Clutch]

What, the CEO of the All Barack Channel makes $51 MILLION a year and the DemonRATs don't have anything to say about this, but they can bloviate about other CEO's salaries? I guess some CEO's are more "special" than others, especially when they are heading up the "Propaganda Ministry for the Peoples's Democratic Movement for the Soviet States of Amerikkka", eh?

ABC, here's some news for you. You are history and no-one will weep when you are gone. You and the rest of the Lamestream Media sold out to the DemonRATs years ago and the sooner you are gone, the better for this country (like the Lightworker, the One We Have Been Waiting For, the Chosen One, the Beige Messiah. Yes, I mock the way your watchers speak of Zerobama, the Fool you helped put on the Hill.)

[Chazz]

As a former employee of the Big Mickey, I saw this coming years ago with the complete abdication of their journalistic integrity in news coverage. Instead they gave in to entertainment news, i.e. Rihanna/Chris Brown, Tiger's missteps, Octomom, Leno/Conan, fashion trends and the like while ignoring the ACORN crimes, the Dems trashing the Constituional constraints and a myriad of Obama political miscalculations. In fairness, a lot of good people will lose their jobs while those most responsible for this action will keep theirs. There is no sacrificing at the top of the heap. RIP.

[Jeffersonite]

This is good stuff! I am hoping that it won't be too long until we see all these leftist "news" sites go the way of the dinosaur.

[john]

So, the American Bolshevists Company is reducing staff.

The federal government must be consolidating its news organizations, since there have been major propaganda failures here in the last year.

[Black Sabbath]

Maybe you guys should have reported the news like Fox does instead of fawning and slobbering over Obama and the daily Liberal talking points. How's that hope and change working for ya?

[picomanning]

"A transcript of the unedited interview of Sarah Palin by Charles Gibson clearly shows that ABC News edited out crucial portions of the interview that showed Palin as knowledgeable or presented her answers out of context."

So much for ABC News.
Death to ABC and other main stream media of that ilk.

[Michael L]

I feel bad for the individuals losing their jobs. I feel nothing, in contrast for ABC the organization. The public is tired of floridly biased reporting, and frankly we can all obtain fresher material from multiple sources (often with better, more in-depth reporting) from the Internet.

[B kat]

Are any of you news people going to ambush ABC News and ask them why they are cutting jobs thus taking away the healthcare of their former employees?
Why not.

[B kat]

Are other news organizations going to demand that the CEO of ABC News give back part of their salary to prevent layoffs so that them and their families don't lose their healthcare benefits?

Do you ABC News people that are being let go realize that Disney made profits? They could afford to keep you.

[B kat]

Hey, ABC, have you informed the union thugs that your reporters are going to shoot and edit news vids?

[RM Edaps]

It is no surprise that ABC is floundering. Hard for any thinking person to take seriously any "journalism" outfit that was consumed with Bush potentially missing some National Guard meetings 30 years ago, but not the least interested in Obama's ties to socialist/terrorist/anti-American/communist/Maoist mentors and associates ala Ayers, Wright, Van Jones, Pfleger, Ron Bloom, Anita Dunn, Browner, and on and on and on. No one will miss a complicit shill for the administration and the left.

[janek]

les spinner les liberal spin and america thanks you

[ott2000]

Oh such disturbing news!!! "Elections have ramifications" I only hope that this will have no affect on what Barbara WaWa makes.

[Charlie Gibson]

Do you think I left because I had enough money? I saw this coming and bailed.
Sorry Diane, Sugarbabe...forgive me.