Nate Silver, FiveThirtyEight Founder, Expects to Depart ABC News Amid Layoffs
Nate Silver, founder and editor of data-driven news site FiveThirtyEight, said Tuesday he plans to retire from ABC News.
Silver, who founded FiveThirtyEight in 2008 and worked for The New York Times from 2010 to 2013, on Twitter that Disney’s job cuts “had a considerable impact” on the site;
“I am now sad and disappointed to a degree that is difficult to express. We have been at Disney for almost ten years,” he wrote. “My contract is about to expire, and when it’s done, I’ll quit.”
Silver said he started talking about other opportunities because he was worried about “results like this.”
In a statement, ABC News said it remains committed to data journalism, with a strong focus on political, economic and corporate reporting.
“This streamlined structure will allow us to align more closely with our priorities beyond the 2024 election,” the company said. “We appreciate the invaluable contributions of the team members who are leaving the organization and know they will continue to have a significant impact on the future of journalism.”
Three people familiar with the layoffs at the site, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said more than half of FiveThirtyEight’s 35-person staff had been cut.
Silver, whose contract expires in the summer, owns some of the intellectual property used by two of them, FiveThirtyEight.
Said.
An internal Slack message Silver sent to employees who were about to leave said, hollywood reporter on tuesday.
ABC News said it would keep the FiveThirtyEight brand name.
On Tuesday, Silver, who gained national fame for his accurate predictions about the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, apologized on Twitter to those affected. I am,” he said. “It’s never been easy.”
The New York Times licensed Five Third Eight’s content from 2010 to 2013, with a primary focus on politics, but also providing computational analysis in sports, economics, and other areas. In 2013, the franchise moved to ESPN, a sports empire controlled by The Walt Disney Company. Acquired by ABC News 2018.
