17,000 Jobs Slashed

2025 was an awful year for the media and entertainment industry with 17,000 jobs cut and people put out of work.

While the raw data indicates that job losses within the specific news sector—spanning broadcast, digital, and print—technically decreased by 50% compared to the bloodbath of the previous year, the metrics hide a far more concerning trend that is poised to accelerate in 2026: unchecked industry consolidation.

According to Challenger, the primary driver for the 2,254 news jobs lost through November was "restructuring and industry consolidation." This corporate euphemism defined the year, most notably with the FCC-approved merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media, which triggered waves of layoffs across the Paramount portfolio. Similarly, Disney slashed hundreds of jobs as part of a cost-cutting initiative to offset the audience migration from cable to streaming. These moves were not temporary adjustments; they were structural shifts designed to shrink the workforce permanently.

The landscape for 2026 looks even more precarious as these consolidated giants look to maximize efficiency at the expense of headcount. Adding to the volatility is the political climate; under President Donald Trump, PBS lost federal funding, forcing the public broadcaster to cut 15% of its staff—a move that signals a harsher environment for non-commercial news gathering moving forward.

Furthermore, digital outlets that survived the pivot to video are now crumbling under changing search behaviors.

Looming over all of this is the rise of artificial intelligence. A World Economic Forum survey found that 41% of companies plan to reduce workforces over the next five years due to AI. As generative AI handles increasingly complex tasks, and as media conglomerates continue to merge and purge, the "efficiency" sought in 2025 may simply be the prelude to a much leaner, and more difficult, 2026 for journalists.