WAMU shuts down local news site DCist, lays off reporters

The station, a member of the NPR network, acquired DCist in 2018. It now has four journalists, down from 14 last year

By Elahe Izadi and Will Sommer
Updated February 23, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. EST | Published February 23, 2024 at 9:32 a.m. EST

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

Station general manager Erika Pulley-Hayes made the announcement during a roughly 10-minute meeting, during which no questions were taken. She told staffers that the shift was part of a new strategy to focus more on audio products rather than the written journalism that WAMU had hoped to bolster when it acquired DCist six years ago.

She cited a “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 while 10 others added, mostly in audio-production roles.

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By Elahe Izadi
Elahe Izadi is a staff writer covering media and also co-hosts daily flagship podcast "Post Reports." She joined The Post in 2014 as a general assignment reporter, and has covered pop culture, Congress, demographics and breaking news. Twitter https://twitter.com/ElaheIzadi

By Will Sommer
Will Sommer is a media reporter for the Style section. He's the author of "Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America," a book covering the QAnon movement. Twitter https://twitter.com/willsommer

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WAMU Shuts Down Dcist
Prince Of Petworth Today at 9:35am



WAMU writes this morning:

“Thank you for vising and supporting DCist. Since 2018, it has been a part of WAMU 88.5, the Washington region’s public media and NPR member station. As of February 23, the site will no longer publish new content.“

# closing | # end of an era

WAMU abruptly shuts down DCist site, lays off 15 journalists
Christopher Thomas | christopher.thomas@wtop.com

February 23, 2024, 1:06 PM

The D.C. NPR affiliate, WAMU, shut down its web-based local news site, the DCist, Friday morning and laid off 15 journalists.

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