Current TV Staff Hit by ‘Bloodbath’ of Layoffs
November 11, 2009
Word has it that the L.A. staff of Al Gore’s Current TV was hit today by “a bloodbath” that saw 80 employees laid off across all departments, as management implemented “a shift in programming strategy.”
It hasn’t been a good year for the Al Gore-founded Current TV cable venture.
First, back in March two reporters from its elite Vanguard Journalism team Euna Lee and Laura Ling wandered into North Korea and were captured by border guards. They were tried, convicted and sentenced to 12 years at hard labor for their well-meant but reckless adventure. While they were in custody in Pyongyang, Gore and his partner Joel Hyatt pulled the plug on Current’s $100 million IPO. Lee and Ling were eventually freed by North Korea on Aug. 4 in exchange for a photo opportunity with former President Bill Clinton.
Mass layoffs are nothing new at Current. A year ago to the day—Nov. 11, 2008—60 Current staffers got the axe. KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, quoting sources familiar with Current’s plans, reported that a new round of layoffs was in the offing back on Oct. 12.
Reportedly, Current will be consolidating television production and programming development under one roof in Los Angeles with new facilities at LA Center Studios.
It’s not yet known if producer Lee; Ling, vice-president of the Vanguard unit or Mitchell Koss, the executive producer-cameraman who accompanied Lee and Ling on their ill-fated assignment but eluded capture by the North Koreans, survived today’s cuts. [Update: David Neuman, Current head of programming who signed off on Lee and Ling's North Korea project, was fired: La Figa.]
- Current TV Suffer ‘Bloodbath’ As 80 Lose Jobs, Leena Rao, TechCrunch
- Glamour Names Euna Lee, Laura Ling 2009 Women of the Year, Epicanthus
- Gore’s Current TV Cuts 80 Workers, Shifts Programming, SFGate
- 2008 Layoffs at Current TV Recalled, CNET
