National Journal’s Bumpy Road to Reinvention

“It’s a ghost town.” That’s how National Journal‘s newsroom was recently described to FishbowlDC.

While National Journal insists that the planned rebirth of the newsgroup is moving along as planned, others relay a very different story. For starters, we’re told that the magazine’s entire editing team has accepted the buyout. And though Charlie Green remains, he will be moving from his editorial role and into an advisory position with the company. Sources also tell us that only a handful of mid-level editors from Congress Daily will stay on and that half of Hotline is already gone.

When asked about the transformation in progress, a source inside the newsroom said, “It’s not going well. I think management is shocked by how many people are taking them up on their offer.” Our source went on to say, “Why wouldn’t I take the buyout? It’s degrading to interview for your own job and then receive an offer for up to 25% less than you’re currently making.”

Good point – so why not take the buyout? According to those familiar with the deals, packages were based solely on tenure. While most were offered 6 months to a year, no employee was offered less than 3 months and some got up to 16 months salary. The alternative – a several week interview process to keep a similar job with more work for less pay.

So what about National Journal’s nationwide star search for the best and brightest reporters? “Those star-level positions only pay $60 – $90K annually,” said a FishbowlDC source. “I’m not sure what kind of stars they’re going to be able to recruit for that salary.”

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