The political data website FiveThirtyEight is shutting down. Disney’s mass layoffs at ABC News and Disney Entertainment Networks sealed its fate.
Disney is slashing nearly 6% of its workforce. About 200 employees at ABC News and Disney Entertainment Networks will be affected. Fifteen of those jobs are from FiveThirtyEight.
The cuts come as Disney shifts focus. It plans to spend more on sports and entertainment content to stay competitive in streaming. More layoffs are coming. ABC News is merging “20/20” and “Nightline” and restructuring “Good Morning America.”
G. Elliot Morris, who runs FiveThirtyEight, called it a “huge blow” to political data journalism. “This is a severe blow…all planned updates to polls data and averages are canceled indefinitely,” he said.
Morris hopes FiveThirtyEight can make a comeback. He believes a small team of researchers and engineers, along with a “modest budget,” could revive it. “538’s data collection was game-changing, and I hope it gets a rebirth,” he said.
Nate Silver, the site’s founder, was heartbroken. “My heart goes out to the people there,” he said. “They were tremendously hard-working…They deserved much better.”
Former reporter Kayleigh Rogers warned of “severe ripple effects” in the industry. Walter Hickey, executive editor at Sherwood News, said ABC “completely fumbled a real jewel.”
Disney’s cuts extend beyond FiveThirtyEight. FX and Freeform, part of Disney Entertainment Networks, are also losing staff.