> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://onemanandhisblog.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # What today’s Twitter layoffs could mean for journalists - URL: https://onemanandhisblog.com/2022/11/what-todays-twitter-layoffs-could-mean-for-journalists/ - Published: 2022-11-04T11:05:20.000Z - Updated: 2022-11-04T12:48:00.000Z - Description: Elon Musk is busy gutting Twitter’s staff — and where he chooses to cut will tell us what the platform’s future relationship with news will look like. - Author: Adam Tinworth - Tags: X (Twitter), Social Media Frankly, it's a bit of a difficult morning. The tone of today in audience circles is very different to last week, when the news of Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter hit. There's rather fewer jokes, and rather more sympathy, as we start to see UK-based Twitter employees losing their jobs. Their US colleagues will be going through the same experience in a few hours, and the expectation is that [up to half of Twitter's staff](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/11/03/elon-musk-twitter-layoffs/?ref=onemanandhisblog.com) will be laid off. I'm going to devote much of this post to what we in the journalism business should be watching for in these layoffs, but first I want to take a moment to acknowledge the humans at the heart of this. ## The personal cost These are just a few tweets I've seen from personal friends or online acquaintances who've been fired this morning: > What a wild ride. > > Thank you to tweeps past and present who made my time at Twitter so special. > > And the biggest thank you to Curation - it is a damn privilege to have led such an incredible team of rockstars. > > 🫡💙 [https://t.co/lBWEGi1ISC](https://t.co/lBWEGi1ISC?ref=onemanandhisblog.com) > > — J Geary ⚡️ (@JoannaG) [November 4, 2022](https://twitter.com/JoannaG/status/1588419374150750208?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=onemanandhisblog.com) > It is done. > > I’m incredibly proud of the [@TwitterDev](https://twitter.com/TwitterDev?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=onemanandhisblog.com) team(s), and the folks I’ve worked with across nearly 9 years to keep the API and developer platform vibrant. > > To those in our developer community: thank you. It was my honour to serve you. > > — Andy Piper (@andypiper) [November 4, 2022](https://twitter.com/andypiper/status/1588453008597196800?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=onemanandhisblog.com) > So grateful to have had the opportunity to work with so many amazing people [#LoveWhereYouWork](https://twitter.com/hashtag/LoveWhereYouWork?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=onemanandhisblog.com) [pic.twitter.com/UBMtfxrJna](https://t.co/UBMtfxrJna?ref=onemanandhisblog.com) > > — Nic Keaney (@NicKeaney) [November 4, 2022](https://twitter.com/NicKeaney/status/1588375925468852224?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=onemanandhisblog.com) They're all talented folks, whom I hope and expect will land on their feet, but seeing work they've invested the best part of a decade in dismantled, while being told they're personally surplus to requirements, can't be emotionally easy. My very best wishes to all of them. Now, what does this mean for the rest of us? ## The canaries in Twitter's coal mine A million years ago and, at the same time, a week ago, when Musk took over Twitter, I realised that there were four major things to watch as Musk reshaped Twitter. If some or all of them changed, the relationship between the platform and journalism would be reshaped for ever. Here they are: 1. Major changes to verification 2. Changes to the publisher relationships in Twitter Blue 3. Dismantling of the Curation/Moments team 4. Dismantling of the News Partnerships team And how do things stand now? Two have happened, one looks likely to have happened *(UPDATE: Now confirmed — see below)*, and we're waiting to hear about the last: 1. ✅ Major changes to verification 2. ✅ Changes to the publisher relationships in Twitter Blue 3. ✅ Dismantling of the Curation/Moments team 4. ❓Dismantling of the News Partnerships team ### Verification Look, I have my [issues with how Twitter runs verification](https://onemanandhisblog.com/2019/07/messy-verification-process-leave-blue-ticks-open-to-abuse/) and, in particular, how it creates a [two tier system for journalists](https://onemanandhisblog.com/2019/04/social-media-verification-still-a-crapshoot/). But there's no doubt that being a proven, verified journalist goes some way to helping you stand out amidst the misinformation noise on the platform. Musk's move to make verification for all available for a fee will fundamentally dilute that ability. That's our first canary expired. ### Twitter Blue The publisher relationships that allowed subscribers to have access to ad-free articles via Twitter Blue, the subscription service available in some parts of the world, was [killed unexpectedly by Twitter](https://9to5mac.com/2022/11/01/twitter-chaos/?ref=onemanandhisblog.com). Musk clearly wants to renegotiate those relationships: > And paywall bypass for publishers willing to work with us > > — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) [November 1, 2022](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1587500624098246656?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=onemanandhisblog.com) But it's hard to trust someone who kills — on a whim, with no notice — something you put development work into supporting, isn't it? ### Moments & Curation The curation team was (and yes, it looks like the past tense *is* appropriate) the internal journalistic part of Twitter, curating the best news and Tweets in a way that brought value to the platform — and traffic to publishers. It was led by friend-of-the-blog Joanna Geary, late of the *Birmingham Post*, *The Times* and *The Guardian*. She was the first of the “personal cost” tweets above. If, as it looks like, this team is essentially gone, it will make it that much harder for news publishers to stand out from the noise on Twitter. **Update — 12.15pm, 4/11/22** Yup, the Curation team is gone: > So Twitter’s Curation team is no more. > > This site 👇 was recently launched to tell the world about our work. Give it a look for two reasons: > > 1) to see how it will impact your experience > 2) if you want to hire the people behind it, get in touch via DM[https://t.co/vGdlDSYh8r](https://t.co/vGdlDSYh8r?ref=onemanandhisblog.com) > > — Andrew Haigh (@AndrewHaigh) [November 4, 2022](https://twitter.com/AndrewHaigh/status/1588468986596859904?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=onemanandhisblog.com) ### News Partnerships The major social platforms have long had news partnership teams, whose job it its to build closer relationships with major publishers. That's why journalists seem to get special treatment for things like verification — it's handled between the social teams of major publishers and the news partnership folks. If this team gets dismantled in the layoffs today — and I've seen no evidence either way yet — then truly Twitter, [like Facebook before it](https://onemanandhisblog.com/2022/07/facebooks-long-slow-breakup-with-journalism-is-underway/), is planning to leave journalism behind. Today will be an interesting day. --- ## Newsletters: Revue is dead Big news from the well-sourced Casey Newton last night: > Some Twitter news as we wait for layoffs to hit: > > \- Its Revue newsletter product will be sunset by end of year > \- ‘Notes’ longform writing product is on indefinite 'pause' > \- Details on the Vine reboot > > Subscribe to read ➡️ [https://t.co/CoIClOB6vh](https://t.co/CoIClOB6vh?ref=onemanandhisblog.com) > > — Casey Newton (@CaseyNewton) [November 3, 2022](https://twitter.com/CaseyNewton/status/1588302344176816128?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=onemanandhisblog.com) That's bad news: some publishers use Revue, and there are some great journalism-relevant newsletters on there too, not least those of [Vincent Peyregne](https://www.getrevue.co/profile/vincentpeyregne?ref=onemanandhisblog.com), [Kevin Anderson](https://www.getrevue.co/profile/kevglobal?ref=onemanandhisblog.com) and the [lovely Media Voices team](https://www.getrevue.co/profile/MediaVoices?ref=onemanandhisblog.com). I'm working on a post about exit options for publishers using Revue. Look for it on the site later today, or early tomorrow. --- ## In other news Despite our obsession with the bird app, other things are happening in the journalism world. ### Member models aren't just about news This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone paying attention, but it's nice to see it confirmed again: [News alone is no longer the driver of New York Times subscription growth - PoynterThe company’s quarterly financial report follows what has become a trend: an operating profit margin of around 10%![](https://www.poynter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/favicon.png)PoynterRick Edmonds![](https://www.poynter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/AP_20218653319926-1.jpg)](https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2022/news-alone-is-no-longer-the-driver-of-new-york-times-subscription-growth/?ref=onemanandhisblog.com) This was one of the major conclusions of the [INMA Light Readers](https://www.inma.org/report/light-readers-digital-subscriptions-next-growth-path?ref=onemanandhisblog.com) report that I worked on a couple of years ago. And yes, that does mean that your editorial leaders need to concentrate just as much on lifestyle and service journalism as the exciting breaking news stuff. For example: [Cost of living journalism is being welcomed by readers, research revealsTrusted journalism is playing a vital role for society through its coverage of the cost-of-living crisis, a new study has revealed today.![](https://cdn-static-1.medium.com/_/fp/icons/Medium-Avatar-500x500.svg)Behind Local News UKBehind Local News![](https://miro.medium.com/max/1200/1*twOkP8116LXX5Vp6j8UdJg.jpeg)](https://medium.com/behind-local-news-uk/cost-of-living-journalism-is-being-welcomed-by-readers-research-reveals-2e98a7d655f1?ref=onemanandhisblog.com) Solidarity to my features, lifestyle and business journalism brethren. We matter! ### Where should we use AI? The *Toronto Star* is making a good fist of figuring this out: [What types of local news stories should be automated? The Toronto Star is figuring it outIn the case of break-and-enter stories, “everybody recognized that a poor execution of the idea would be a problem.”![](https://www.niemanlab.org/favicon.ico)Nieman LabHanaa’ Tameez![](https://www.niemanlab.org/images/sandro-schuh-6wVqCeK030Y-unsplash-700x467.jpg)](https://www.niemanlab.org/2022/11/what-types-of-local-news-stories-should-be-automated-the-toronto-star-is-figuring-it-out/?ref=onemanandhisblog.com) I agree [strongly with Kevin on this](https://www.getrevue.co/profile/kevglobal/issues/newspaper-publishers-lay-out-their-investment-priorities-by-damianradcliffe-from-newspaperworld-plus-which-products-are-hot-and-which-products-are-not-amongst-publishers-1439599?utm%5Fcampaign=Issue&utm%5Fcontent=view%5Fin%5Fbrowser&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fsource=Digital+Media+Products%2C+Strategy+and+Innovation): > As I have said before, I would much rather have a robot write a basic, formulaic report than treat a reporter like a robot. (Full disclosure: the *Star* is a current client) ### Apple News really matters This is a little bit of “I told you so” but quite a bit more “what you should do about this”: [Why you can’t afford to ignore Apple NewsDespite all the early scepticism, Apple News is now the most used UK news app. Time to stop ignoring it.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/36/d8/36d823b7-59a1-4c8b-91bd-a54c64552596/content/images/size/w256h256/2021/05/COV-1638-3865.png)One Man & His BlogAdam Tinworth![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/36/d8/36d823b7-59a1-4c8b-91bd-a54c64552596/content/images/2022/11/IMG_2763.jpeg)](https://onemanandhisblog.com/2022/11/why-you-cant-afford-to-ignore-apple-news/)