The mainstream media empire is quietly dismantling something they spent years building—and frankly, it’s about time. What started as a virtuous-sounding initiative has become an expensive liability that networks can no longer afford to maintain.
As layoffs sweep through newsrooms nationwide and ratings continue their death spiral, major networks are making tough choices about what stays and what goes.
The pattern emerging across the industry reveals a spectacular retreat of priorities. From coast to coast, media companies are discovering that dividing their audiences into demographic silos isn’t just ideologically suspect; it’s financially ruinous.
The latest casualty in this retreat offers a glimpse into how dramatically the media landscape is shifting. From ‘The Wrap’:
NBC News eliminated its teams dedicated to covering issues affecting Black, Asian American, Latino and LGBTQ+ groups as part of its layoffs of about 150 staffers on Wednesday, according to two sources familiar with the matter, a significant culling as the Peacock network separates from its sister news network, MSNBC.
The cuts mean that the verticals NBC BLK, NBC Asian America, NBC Latino and NBC OUT will no longer have dedicated teams bolstering their coverage.
That’s not a restructuring—that’s an abandonment disguised as a reorganization.
The Industry Follows Suit
This represents NBC’s second round of identity-focused cuts this year, following January’s elimination of 40 positions from similar teams. The network isn’t alone in this retreat;Disney recently rebranded its DEI efforts to the hilariously vague “Opportunity & Inclusion,” while Gannett, the nation’s largest newspaper chain, scrubbed all diversity mentions from its website and stopped publishing demographic data entirely.
The timing is not exactly coincidental. These changes arrive just as Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr launched an investigation into Comcast’s promotion of DEI initiatives, alleging the company has “executives specifically dedicated to promoting DEI across the TV and programming side of the business.”
Suddenly, everyone’s discovering the virtues of traditional journalism again. Funny how that works.
Economic Reality Trumps Ideology
The corporate speak surrounding these cuts deserves its own analysis. NBC’s executive vice president Catherine Kim called it a “difficult day” when announcing the cuts, but let’s decode what the numbers actually tell us.
These reductions affect 7% of NBC News’ 2,000-person newsroom—a significant restructuring that suggests this isn’t about minor budget tweaks. It’s an admission of failure.
The broader context reveals even more. As MSNBC splits from NBC under the new Versant company structure, the network claims it needs to “streamline editorial efforts” and focus on “rigorous fact-based reporting.”
Translation: the failed experiment of segregated news coverage has ended, and traditional journalism standards are making an overdue comeback. Remember when news was just… news? Revolutionary concept, apparently.
What we’re witnessing isn’t corporate belt-tightening; it’s a full-scale retreat from the divisive practice of categorizing Americans by race, ethnicity, and identity groups. When balance sheets demand results and viewers flee in droves, these specialized units are the first casualties.
The market has spoken with brutal clarity, rejecting the notion that Americans need or want their news filtered through demographic lenses.
The question now isn’t whether more networks will follow NBC’s lead; it’s how quickly they’ll scramble to distance themselves from these crumbling schemes. As ratings crater and trust in media hits historic lows, expect more “difficult days” ahead for those still clinging to yesterday’s woke playbook.
The American people want news, not activism, and the industry is finally—finally—getting the message. Better late than never, though one wonders how many viewers they’ve permanently lost in the meantime.
Key Takeaways
- NBC eliminated all identity-based news teams, cutting 150 staffers
- Disney and Gannett are retreating from DEI initiatives industry-wide
- Federal investigators are scrutinizing media companies’ diversity programs
- Market forces are driving networks back to traditional journalism
