Rogers Media Job Cuts: 75 Full-Time Employees from Digital and Publishing Eliminated

Rogers Media continues to reorganize and today has announced it has cut 75 full-time jobs from its publishing and digital content department, which results in one-third of staff losing their positions, as first reported by Emily Jackson from The Financial Post.

“The publishing industry continues to face challenges, as print declines outpace digital growth. We have reorganized our Digital Content & Publishing structure to reflect the headwinds the industry is facing and make the business sustainable,” said Rogers Media spokeswoman Andrea Goldstein in an email to the Post.

Rogers said “we believe we have the right structure in today’s environment that best positions our publishing brands for continued success to product high-quality editorial in service of our readers.”

“These decisions are very difficult. We recognize the meaningful work by our colleagues and thank them for their contributions to the business and for sharing their distinctive voices with our audiences,” added Goldstein.

According to Jackson, cuts include senior editors and executives, with staff apparently notified this morning in a meeting.

The shake-up includes Steve Maich, the senior vice-president of publishing, who decided he will leave Rogers later this summer to return to journalism.

Rogers Media president Rick Brace said in a statement to the Post, “Throughout his extraordinary 14-year tenure at Rogers Media, Steve Maich has left an indelible mark on all those who have had the pleasure of working with him, and all the loyal readers who have enjoyed his writing.”

The job losses are from older magazine titles such as Maclean’s and Chatelaine. Lianne George, the editor-in-chief of Chatelaine, tweeted the following this morning:

She added “Today is a sad day. A lot of excellent people lost their jobs, some of the best in the business. If you are looking to hire writers, editors, designers, video producers, please contact me if I can help forge any connections, and hurry before they all get snapped up.”

George was the first-ever winner of the new Editor Grand Prix at the 2018 National Magazine Awards, awarded to “an individual who is making an outstanding impact on a magazine as an editor.”

Rogers says all of their brands will operate as normal, with no changes to print frequency.

Back in 2016, Rogers Media slashed 200 jobs across their TV, radio and publishing divisions. Earlier in 2013, Rogers Media merged their Canadian Business and PROFIT magazines, a move made one month after slashing 94 jobs, with a quarter of those from its magazine division.

As the print industry continues to struggle, job layoffs will continue as ad revenues decline from falling readership, as more customers move to digital sources on the web.

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