CBS News is doing so well it's laying off 6% of staff, closing CBS News Radio (Updated)

[Update 3 pm 3/20]: CBS News also confirmed today that it will shutter CBS News Radio after nearly 100 years of operation, according to the Associated Press. The service provides material, often top-of-the-hour news roundups, to about 700 stations nationwide and is set to end on May 22. Bari Weiss said that “we did everything we could… to try and find a viable solution to sustain the radio operation” but “we just could not find a way to make that possible.” 

[Original story]: With a new crop of forever wars, environmental catastrophes, and flagrant government corruption to report on, one would think that the news business is booming. Unfortunately, as tech’s savviest billionaires and their sons consolidate and hollow out what remains of American media, only Grok will be left to report that the world has ended. Driving us closer to that dystopian nightmare, Bari Weiss’ CBS News, hot off of its latest ratings dips, is set to slash 6% of its workforce, Variety reports. This morning, Weiss and CBS News President Tom Bibrowski sent a memo to employees, informing them that they are “reducing the size of our workforce.” The company is “pressing forward with ambitious plans to grow and invest,” and by “grow and invest” they mean “some of our newsroom must get smaller.” Still, the company promises to treat all affected “with care and respect.” That’s sweet. 

“It’s no secret that the news business is changing radically, and that we need to change along with it,” the note reads (per Zeteo’s Justin Baragona). “New audiences are burgeoning in new places, and we are pressing forward with ambitious plans to grow and invest so that we can be there for them. That means some parts of our newsroom must get smaller to make room for the things we must build to remain competitive. But these are very hard choices and today is a difficult day.”

“This is a tough message to receive at any time, and especially in the middle of an exceptionally intense news cycle,” it reads. “We’re so grateful to all of you, and we thank you for handling this difficult news with compassion.”