The Incredibly Shrinking ABC News

Image via Wikipedia

Faced with declining ratings and shriveling ad revenues, ABC News plans a major shake-up that could reduce its news division by 20 percent.

The Walt Disney Co.-owned ABC is hopeful that somewhere between 300 to 400 of the roughly 1,400  news division staffers will accept voluntary buyouts, but in any case, layoffs will help the network of Roone Arledge and Peter Jennings attain that goal.  As part of the changeover, the weekday and weekend staffs of World News and Good Morning America will be combined.  GMA, ABC's principal revenue provider, has experienced a 10 percent dropoff in viewers among advertiser demographic-desirable 25- to 54-year-old viewers, so George Stephanopolous better accelerate his kitchen baking and insipid banter skills.

Once the dust has settled, journalists who remain standing at ABC will be expected to go "digital," by recording, editing and producing their own stories. The anticipated staff reduction is the largest since Disney acquired ABC in 2001 when 125 news division jobs were lost. Misery loves company as earlier this month, CBS News turned off the lights at its Moscow, London and Los Angeles bureaus and slashed nearly 100 jobs (see "TUOL" post 2/1/10).

ABC News has gone from being "Rooned" to being ruined.