It’s a gloomy time in media, with frequent announcements of layoffs and shutdowns (it even happened today).
That’s why it seems remarkable for an established publication to announce ambitious plans for newsroom expansion. The publication in question is The Atlantic, the magazine that Lauren Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective bought a majority stake in last year.
The magazine announced today that it will be adding “as many as 100 new staffers” over the next year. That would increase The Atlantic’s headcount by 30 percent, and half of those additions are supposed to be on the editorial side. The company also says it will be forming a “Talent Lab” to find diverse writers, some of whom might join full-time, while others become occasional contributors.
In a memo to staff, Bob Cohn, president of The Atlantic, said the company was profitable last year (as it was for the seven preceding years). The magazine’s editorial expansion is supposed to include more hires to cover Washington D.C., technology, Hollywood and family, and to grow The Atlantic’s contributed content and its Washington Ideas event.
“This promises to be an exciting and, I believe, transformative time in our history,” Cohn wrote. “The Atlantic has reached new heights thanks to the stewardship of David Bradley over the last two decades. And now, as David works alongside Laurene Powell Jobs, we take these next important steps with the guidance and support of our partners at Emerson Collective.”
