Higher-ups at Human Events warned staff on Tuesday that there would be a big announcement at a 10:30 a.m. meeting the next day. Many employees had a feeling it would be bad news, possibly more layoffs.

Workers who showed up at the office before the meeting went to their desks and computers as usual. Then they gathered in the conference room where V.P. and Group Publisher Joe Guerriero announced that the last payday for nearly all staff members would be this Friday. After the meeting, employees returned to their computers, only to find they couldn’t use them. While the bad news was delivered, the log-in information had been changed.

Employees were told if they needed to retrieve any personal information from what was now their former computers, management would watch them while they did so. Today will be their last day in the office. Human Events will no longer be available in print. Feb. 18th was their last issue.

Guerriero would not comment on the record for this story.

What happened in the meeting…Despite the somber news, no negative energy was felt inside the conference room, a source who was present for the meeting told FBDC. Read more

Cathy Taylor is barely four months into her gig as the editor of Human Events and the conservative weekly is already facing a massive shakeup under her leadership.

Taylor recently terminated Tony Lee who spearheaded the publication’s election blog and also dropped Brian H. Darling, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a regular columnist for nearly four years. FishbowlDC hears there are more major changes on the horizon and possibly more layoffs.

Sources close to Human Events tell us Taylor is moving the news outlet, known for its hard right conservatism, into a more “big tent” direction with an emphasis on original reporting. There will be a relaunch of the paper product and website in mid April.

Despite not pulling in a profit, Human Events isn’t thought to be in financial trouble. It is funded by its parent company Eagle Publishing.

Dismissing Lee

Lee joined Human Events in late 2010. He was initially hired to report on politics and culture but moved into political analysis with the website’s launch of “The Chase,” an opinion blog on the Republican presidential field.

Lee faced long-term health issues before and during his tenure at Human Events. A source close to the publication told FishbowlDC that this was likely a major factor in his termination, but there was also a series of conflicts between him and Taylor regarding the direction of Human Events into more centrist territory. Multiple sources expressed doubt over Taylor’s bona fides as a conservative.

The New Direction

At the core of Human Event‘s makeover…

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Human Events Managing Editor Adam Tragone discusses the Libyan conflict with Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) while the congressman strums away in a mellow jam session.