As The Wrap and The Advocate report, NBC News has laid off roughly 150 employees, about 7 percent of its newsroom, and dissolved its dedicated editorial teams covering Black, Latino, Asian American, and LGBTQ+ communities. The cuts come as NBC reorganizes under a new entity called Versant, separating MSNBC from NBC News. Executives said the move aims to “eliminate overlap and streamline operations,” but the change effectively ends the network’s identity-based verticals — NBC BLK, NBC Latino, NBC Asian America, and NBC Out.
NBC said some staff will be reassigned, and that the outlets’ reporting will be integrated into broader coverage. But critics fear the result will lead to fewer stories on marginalized voices. Rich Ferraro, GLAAD’s chief communications officer, called the decision “part of a dangerous pattern of mainstream media outlets choosing to lose trusted and talented journalists who focus on important LGBTQ news that otherwise is under-reported or not reported at all…This is a terrible and poorly-timed loss for journalism and for our democracy.” He praised NBC Out’s team for reporting that earned the trust of queer Americans and allies.
NBC Out, launched in 2016, was the first major broadcast vertical dedicated to LGBTQ+ issues and recently earned a GLAAD Media Award for Jo Yurcaba’s story, “Friends Remember Nex Benedict.” The layoffs reflect a broader contraction in U.S. media, where outlets are cutting diversity and identity desks amid economic pressure and backlash against DEI programs.
