DC Radio: WAMU Announces Layoffs

The Washington, DC-area NPR affiliate WAMU shut down local news site DCist on Friday morning, immediately following an all-staff meeting where employees were informed layoffs would be imminent.

Station general manager Erika Pulley-Hayes made the announcement to staffers during a roughly 10-minute meeting — during which no questions were taken — that the shift was necessary as part of a new content strategy that was developed over the last year, to focus more on audio.

She cited the “ripple effect across media consumption habits” created by the pandemic, a declining advertising market and a difficult philanthropic climate. Pulley-Hayes did not detail in the meeting how many staffers would be laid off, but she spoke to Axios, which reported 15 staffers would be cut.

WAMU acquired DCist in 2018, which at the time it described as a “beloved local news site.”

Axios reports the shift away from digital publishing will allow WAMU to focus on its core radio products, as well as new digital audio opportunities like podcasts and live events, WAMU general manager Erika Pulley-Hayes told Axios."We're making the choice to invest in what we're better at than anyone else in this town, and that's audio," Pulley-Hayes said.

Details: Fifteen positions will be eliminated as part of the changes, but 10 new positions — mostly audio specialists and producers — will be added."We feel like this is the best way for us to engage and build loyalty," said Michael Tribble, WAMU's newly hired chief content officer.
WAMU is planning to launch a new local radio show and hopes to build an app.

Between the lines: Research commissioned by the station's leadership suggested the WAMU brand was stickier than DCist's, both executives explained."Too many media companies fail by trying to be all things to all people, leaving their value proposition diluted and weakened," said Peter Cherukuri, vice chair of WAMU's board of advisers.

Part of the changes also include elevating WAMU's biggest voices, including Kojo Nnamdi, who hosts his own show in addition to "The Politics Hour," a weekly political talk show.