Where Have All The Black Journalists Gone?

This isn’t just a Condé Nast problem. Changing winds are being felt all across the industry. Earlier this year, MSNBC (owned by NBCUniversal) did its own “reshuffling,” ultimately firing Joy Reid, a prominent Black political commentator and outspoken Trump critic, and canceling her award-winning primetime show. NBCUniversal struck again in October, gutting 150 staffers from NBC News and announcing it would eliminate the teams dedicated to covering marginalized issues. That same month, VIBE, the long-running music magazine focused on rap, hip-hop, and R&B coverage launched by music mogul Quincy Jones announced that it would merge with Rolling Stone. The statement speaks of plans to re-establish the magazine as a driving force for music reporting and amplify its presence across all platforms. It did not, however, say this: it all comes at the expense of VIBE’s almost entirely Black newsroom.