FiveThirtyEight editor-in-chief Nate Silver will leave the data-driven media outlet as broader layoffs at Disney impact ABC News.
Silver, whose presidential election forecasts earned him recognition over the past two decades, joins a growing number of media personalities who exited their positions this week, including Fox News host Tucker Carlson and CNN anchor Don Lemon. The statistician told employees in an internal message that he will leave Disney when his contract “soon” expires, according to a Tuesday report from the Hollywood Reporter.
“We don’t yet know the scope of these layoffs, exactly who is impacted, or the terms under which they are departing, but it is going to be a hard day for all of us,” he informed staffers.
Silver launched FiveThirtyEight, a name derived from the number of presidential electors in the Electoral College, as a data aggregation and blog site in 2008, accurately predicting the outcome of 49 out of 50 states in the presidential election contest between Barack Obama and John McCain. He sold the site to ESPN, the sports outlet owned by Disney, in 2015; the site was later moved to ABC News, which Disney also controls.
FiveThirtyEight will operate without Silver for the first time in 15 years. A spokesperson for ABC News told the Hollywood Reporter that “this streamlined structure will allow us to be more closely aligned with our priorities for the 2024 election and beyond.”
“Disney layoffs have substantially impacted FiveThirtyEight. I am sad and disappointed to a degree that’s kind of hard to express right now,” Silver remarked on social media. “We’ve been at Disney almost 10 years. My contract is up soon and I expect that I’ll be leaving at the end of it. I had been worried about an outcome like this and so have had some great initial conversations about opportunities elsewhere.”
Disney CEO Bob Iger announced two months ago that the firm would dismiss 7,000 workers as part of a “strategic realignment” meant to reduce costs. Bloomberg recently reported that many of the layoffs would occur this week and impact employees in the conglomerate’s entertainment, television, film, theme parks, and corporate divisions.
“For our employees who aren’t impacted, I want to acknowledge that there will no doubt be challenges ahead as we continue building the structures and functions that will enable us to be successful moving forward,” Iger informed staff members last month. “In tough moments, we must always do what is required to ensure Disney can continue delivering exceptional entertainment to audiences and guests around the world, now, and long into the future.”
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The exit of Silver comes one day after Fox News unexpectedly announced that Tucker Carlson, who dominated primetime ratings for cable television and served as a fixture on subscription video service Fox Nation, would “part ways” with the corporation. A source told The Daily Wire that his staff members were blindsided by the news and only learned late Monday morning when members received an email from Carlson.
The news of his departure came one week after syndicated talk radio host and former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino announced that he was leaving Fox News, citing a breakdown in contract negotiations, and on the same day that Don Lemon was ousted from CNN.