CBS News Cuts 6% of Staff, ProPublica Union Authorizes Strike, Yahoo Sells Engadget: Media News Recap for March
Welcome to Media Insider, PR Newswire’s roundup of the biggest media stories from the past month.
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March brought a wave of changes across the media industry, from layoffs to ownership shifts. CBS News reduced its workforce by 6% and announced plans to shut down its CBS News Radio service, while ProPublica’s union authorized a strike over AI-related protections—marking a first for U.S. newsrooms. Meanwhile, Yahoo moved to sell Engadget to Static Media, and Business Insider launched its Vibe Mode newsletter tracking the rise of vibe coding.
Here’s everything you need to know.
CBS News lays off 6% of staff, shuts down CBS News Radio service
CBS News is laying off about 6% of staffers in the latest round of cost-cutting under new management at Paramount Skydance.
The staff reductions — about 60 to 70 in all — come after Bari Weiss, editor-in-chief of CBS News, articulated a plan to make CBS News more relevant to younger, digitally savvy generations. (Variety)
The unit will also shut down CBS News Radio on May 22. All positions within the CBS News Radio team are being eliminated. (Deadline)
Layoffs also impacted other outlets in March:
- CNBC cuts jobs amid newsroom reorganization. (Hollywood Reporter)
- Axios lays off 11 newsroom staffers. (TheWrap)
- The Post-Gazette files a Pennsylvania WARN notice affecting 171 employees. (Pittsburgh Business Times)
ProPublica union authorizes first U.S. newsrooms strike over AI protections
Members of the ProPublica Guild, one of the largest nonprofit newsroom unions in the U.S., overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike. Out of the roughly 150 journalists, copyeditors, videographers and other newsroom workers in the Guild, 92% of members voted to walk off the job if ProPublica doesn’t agree to their contract terms in the coming weeks.
One of the sticking points at the bargaining table has been an article that would prohibit ProPublica from laying off employees due to AI adoption. The Guild is also pushing for “just cause” when firing unit members, a provision that would give senior employees more job security during layoffs, and cost-of-living wage increases.
The Guild’s vote marks the first time a major U.S. newsroom has authorized a strike, at least in part, over AI protections. (NiemanLab)
More union news in March:
- CBS News 24/7 staff held bicoastal walkouts as their contract expired. (Editor & Publisher)
- Anchorage Daily News staff became the first newsroom in Alaska to unionize. (News Guild)
- Italian journalists went on strike amid AI and pay disputes. (Wanted in Rome)
- Newsroom strikes have surged amid prolonged contract fights. (Axios)
- Nearly two dozen news unions have formed annually since 2020. (Axios)
Yahoo is selling Engadget to Static Media
Engadget, the long-running tech news website, has a new owner. Yahoo sold the publication to Static Media. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
“This move reflects Yahoo’s focus on our core brands, while aligning Engadget with an owner whose primary focus is operating and growing editorial media brands,“ says Sona Iliffe-Moon, Yahoo’s chief communications officer. “This also includes a broader Yahoo partnership with Static Media that will support audience and revenue growth across its portfolio of brands, including Engadget.” (The Verge)
More deals announced in March:
- Axel Springer acquired The Telegraph. (Axios)
- Axel Springer also acquired real estate news site Bisnow. (Talking Biz News)
- Plaid bought media company This Week in Fintech. (Axios)
- All3Media merged with Banijay Entertainment. (Axios)
- The Rothschild family sold a 27% stake in The Economist to a Canadian billionaire. (Axios)
- Meta and News Corp. signed an AI licensing deal. (Talking Biz News)
- NBC News has partnered with Joanna Stern to expand its tech coverage. (Axios)
- Politico’s co-founder has invested in a defense tech publication. (Talking Biz News)
- Postmedia acquired accelerate360 Canada. (Editor & Publisher)
- CherryRoad Media acquired The Claxton Enterprise. (Editor & Publisher)
- Scripps agreed to purchase WTVQ from Morris Network. (Editor & Publisher)
- CNBC struck a programming deal with CBOE. (Talking Biz News)
Business Insider launches Vibe Mode newsletter
Business Insider is launching Vibe Mode, a weekly newsletter tracking the rise of vibe coding and what it means for work, startups and the economy. The newsletter will be issued every Monday.
Edited by senior tech editor Rob Scammell, each edition will highlight Business Insider’s reporting on the founders building AI-powered tools, the engineers whose roles are shifting alongside new technologies, and the growing wave of non-coders using AI to create apps and products.
The weekly send will also look at what these changes mean for software companies, investors, markets and the workplace. (Talking Biz News)
Other launches announced in March:
- National Geographic launched a creator ecosystem. (MediaPost)
- Food critic Tom Sietsema launched a newsletter via Beehiiv. (Axios)
- The Guardian introduced Guardian Food Quarterly. (Editor & Publisher)
- Pittsburgh City Paper is relaunching under a new owner. (WESA)
- The Wall Street Journal launched WSJ Opinion Live. (Editor & Publisher)
- Robert Powell launched a personal finance podcast. (Talking Biz News)
- Scripps launched the Scripps Sports Network streaming channel. (Editor & Publisher)
- The Economist launched the Economist Enterprise unit. (Axios)
- Goalhanger launched a content creator fund initiative, The Accelerator. (Hollywood Reporter)
Small publishers hit hardest by search traffic declines
Smaller web publishers, with 1,000–10,000 daily page views, are experiencing the most precipitous traffic declines in the AI era, according to new Chartbeat data.
The data suggests larger publishers with better brand recognition and stronger direct-to-consumer products are more insulated from declines in traditional search traffic.
Over the past two years, referral traffic from traditional search engines has declined by 60% for small publishers, compared with 47% for medium-sized publishers and 22% for large publishers, per Chartbeat.
However, overall web traffic isn’t plummeting, even though search referrals are declining. The average number of weekly page views across all global publishers measured by Chartbeat dropped 6% between 2024 and 2025, which is normal and can be attributed to factors outside of shifting search trends, such as an off-year for elections and a shifting news cycle. (Axios)
In case you missed it:
- 24 of the top 25 U.S. newspapers saw print circulation decline in 2025. (Press Gazette)
- 70% of CTV advertisers plan to increase spending in 2026. (Editor & Publisher)
- Cumulus Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. (Radio Ink)
- Dow Jones projects $1 billion EBITDA within five years. (Axios)
- Traffic to top tech publications has plummeted since 2024. (NiemanLab)
- AI sources like ChatGPT account for less than 1% of publishers’ pageviews. (NiemanLab)
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Maria Perez is director of web operations at Cision. In her spare time, she enjoys gaming, watching too much TV, and chasing squirrels with her dog Cece.
