The “PBS NewsHour” is laying off staff in a significant reorganization, TVNewser has learned.
According to an internal memo obtained by TVNewser, MacNeil/Lehrer Productions–which produces the “NewsHour”–will be shutting down its offices in Denver and San Francisco, eliminating nearly all the positions there. The company will also eliminate several production positions in its Washington DC office, while leaving two open senior-level roles unfilled.The “NewsHour” is also planning to save money by streamlining and digitizing its technical process.
“This difficult step comes after more than a year spent reviewing how the ‘NewsHour’ functions, and determining the streamlining necessary to address both the funding challenges (primarily a steady drop in corporate revenue) and the opportunities presented by new technologies,” wrote “NewsHour” EP Linda Winslow and MacNeil/Lehrer president Bo Jones in the memo to staff.
The changes will go into effect at the start of the new fiscal year, July 1. None of the affected staffers were named in the email, but TVNewser hears that one of those departing is San Francisco correspondent Spencer Michels, who started reporting for the program 30 years ago.
While the program will still maintain in-house crews, the “NewsHour” will rely more on freelance contributions going forward.
“Along with sending our own teams in the field, we anticipate building new relationships with a variety of locally-based freelance video journalists around the country,” Winslow wrote to staff. “Under no circumstances do we intend to abandon the mini-documentary reports that have become so critical to our broadcast. The NewsHour remains committed to delivering the same kind of in-depth reporting our viewers and supporters expect from us.”
The “NewsHour” has undergone a number of changes over the last few years, with anchor Jim Lehrer stepping down from daily anchor duties in 2011. While Lehrer still appears with some regularity, the program is anchored by a rotating crew of anchors, including Judy Woodruff, Gwen Ifill, Margaret Warner, Ray Suarez, Hari Sreenivasan and Jeffrey Brown.
The program launched in 1975 as “The MacNeil/Lehrer Report,” eventually becoming “The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour” in 1983, “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” in 1995 and the “PBS NewsHour” in 2009.