National Geographic magazine lays off last remaining staff writers

The National Geographic magazine has laid off its last remaining staff writers. According to a report by The Washington Post on Thursday (June 29), the cutback involves some 19 editorial staffers in all, who were notified in April that these terminations were coming. Article assignments would now be contracted out to freelancers or pieced together by editors.

The report added that the layoffs also eliminated the magazine’s audio department. Tuesday’s layoffs were the second over the last nine months, and the fourth since a series of ownership changes started in 2015.

Staffers confirm exiting magazine on Twitter

Several departing staffers confirmed the news of exiting National Geographic on Twitter. “My new National Geographic just arrived, which includes my latest feature—my 16th, and my last as a senior writer. NatGeo is laying off all of its staff writers. I’ve been so lucky. I got to work w/incredible journalists and tell important, global stories. It’s been an honor,” writer Craig Welch tweeted. 

Another writer at the magazine Doug Main, meanwhile, tweeted, “National Geographic is laying off its staff writers, including me.”

The staffers laid off also include Debra Adams Simmons, who was in September 2022 promoted to vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion at National Geographic Media. 

The layoffs come a month after it was reported that National Geographic will no longer be sold on newsstands in the United States starting next year. 

National Geographic among most widely read magazines in US

National Geographic remains among the most widely read magazines in the United States. The Washington Post report said that at its peak in the 1980s, the magazine reached 12 million subscribers in the US and millions more overseas.

Speaking to the publication via email, National Geographic spokesperson Chris Albert said that staffing changes would not affect the company’s plans to continue publishing a monthly magazine “but rather give us more flexibility to tell different stories and meet our audiences where they are across our many platforms.”

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