Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

Residents of Wethersfield Connecticut gathered Monday at a town hall to confront the mayor and other council officials over a decision to refuse a request to fly a ‘thin blue line’ flag in honour of a fallen police officer.

As we highlighted, council officials claimed the pro police flag was ‘racist and antagonistic’, and decided that lowering a LGBTQ flag to half staff was enough of an honour for Aaron Pelletier, who was killed in the line of duty.

Critics charged that the move epitomises the utter state of towns and cities under Democrat control.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Mayor Matthew Forrest claimed “Our Wethersfield Town Council and the entire community stands with the police.”

Others disagreed, including Debbie Garten, the mother of Deputy Robert “Bobby” Garten, who was also killed in the line of duty in September 2023.

Mrs Garten urged that “It was disheartening to witness the news coverage and hear the disrespectful and hurtful remarks being made by some town council members, especially as the wake and funeral for Trooper First Class Pelletier was going on.”

She added, “The thin blue line holds a deeply personal meaning for me, as a tribute to my son’s service and sacrifice,” before calling for the flag to be flown for two whole weeks next May to mark National Police Week and the Connecticut police memorial ceremony.

Will Garten, the brother of Deputy Garten called the mayor “disgusting,” and noted that the official hasn’t even mentioned his name at all.

Last week, City Council of Wethersfield, CT voted against flying a Thin Blue Line flag to memorialize their fallen officers.

Instead, the town flew a PRIDE FLAG.

Yesterday, the mother and the brother of Wethersfield’s fallen Officer Rob Garten confronted the mayor. He calls the… pic.twitter.com/AgS9xsYsx0

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 18, 2024

Some of the town officials have complained that since the incident with the Pride flag and the refusal to fly the thin blue line, they have received “vulgar” messages and even death threats.

“A large number of these communications can easily be described as disturbing and vulgar,” town manager Fred Presley claimed.

“Some have wished physical harm and even death to council members and staff. A handful have reached the level of directly threatening individual council members and their families,” Presley added.

*  *  *

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

If Ozempic and or Mounjaro users can avoid processed foods and get some exercise, they’ll likely maintain their weight loss. The good news is that some of these individuals, who have ditched greasy burgers and donuts, are possibly already on the hunt for smaller clothes. 

Jennifer Hyman, co-founder and CEO of clothing rental company Rent the Runway, spoke to Wall Street Journal’s Suzanne Kapner about the emerging trend of customers switching to smaller sizes more than at any other time in the past 15 years. 

Hyman noted that these customers are increasingly open to experimenting with different styles, such as cutouts and other body-baring features. “When you feel more comfortable in your skin, you’re more willing to try edgier looks,” she added.

At fashion retailer Lafayette 148, the brand’s chief executive, Deirdre Quinn, told WSJ’s Kapner that approximately 5% of its customer base has already begun buying new outfits because of weight loss. 

Quinn said some customers are replacing their size 12 clothes with size 6 or 8. She said the downsizing trend boosts sales and saves the company money because smaller sizes use less fabric.

Abhi Madan, co-founder and creative director of dressmaker Amarra, stated, “Over the past year, our retailers have been telling us they need smaller sizes.”

As of May, 1 in 8 adults in the US had used GLP-1 drugs, equivalent to more than 15 million people. Recently, Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, said that at least 25,000 people are beginning its weight loss treatment weekly.

Bank of America analyst Geoff Meacham first wrote about the downsizing theme last fall in a note that revealed the downstream effects of the obesity drug will impact the apparel industry, as “eventual weight loss in the broader population could spur a wardrobe replacement cycle.” 

Meacham said that an adoption rate of 38 million individuals using weight-loss drugs (midpoint of BofA’s estimated 2030 TAM) combined with the assumption of buying new clothing could result in $50 billion of new apparel spending. 

Next up, as Bloomberg penned in a recent note, GLP-1 drugs are likely going to target “America’s fat pets.” 

Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

The US Embassy in Hanoi reacted angrily to the news that President Putin will visit Vietnam later this week.

One of their spokespeople told Reuters that “No country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalise his atrocities. If he is able to travel freely, it could normalize Russia’s blatant violations of international law.”

This sharp rebuke was ridiculous since it’s not the US’ place to tell its partners which foreign leaders they’re allowed to host.

It’s also hypocritical too since neither the US nor Vietnam are signatories to the Rome Statute that created the “International Criminal Court”, whose ”warrant” for the Russian leader’s arrest last year was what the spokesperson was referencing with regard to their displeasure at him traveling freely. Moreover, while the purpose of his upcoming trip hasn’t been officially confirmed, there’s no doubt that it’ll concern bilateral cooperation and isn’t just an opportunity to discuss his views about Ukraine.

By disrespecting Vietnam in the way that it did through their embassy spokesperson’s rude statement, the US is needlessly risking drama in their hard-earned strategic partnership, which was clinched just last year after lengthy negotiations.

These former wartime enemies entered into a fast-moving rapprochement at the end of the Old Cold War and have shared goals of managing China’s rise, which is especially important for Vietnam due to its maritime territorial dispute with the People’s Republic.

Even so, Vietnam is far from being a US ally or vassal since it proudly retains its strategic autonomy as proven by the continued cultivation of strategic relations with Russia, who it’s loyally supported despite immense Western pressure to dump that country. Most of its armed forces are supplied with Soviet and Russian wares, and its partner’s energy companies are also exploring offshore deposits. Furthermore, Hanoi will never forget Moscow’s support during the Vietnam War, which forged their brotherly ties.

It’s in this context of Vietnam’s careful balancing act between Russia and the US, which is predicated on obtaining the best possible position vis-à-vis its top trade partner China with whom it’s still embroiled in a fierce maritime territorial dispute, that President Putin will soon pay a visit there. Russia respects Vietnam’s decision to strategically partner with its American rival, but America doesn’t respect Vietnam’s decision to strategically partner with its Russian rival, which isn’t lost on Hanoi.

Nevertheless, Vietnam will still keep the US close since it considers it to be the only realistic counterweight to China in the latter’s namesake Southern Sea that Hanoi calls its East Sea, all while arming itself to the teeth with Russian weaponry just in case a conflict breaks out by miscalculation. As Sino-Filipino tensions continue worsening, the US will likely try to rope Vietnam into this as well so as to increase the pressure on Beijing, but Hanoi won’t ever act against its interests at others’ demands.

That’s always been the case but is even more so now after the US’ ridiculous rebuke over its hosting of President Putin, which reminded policymakers and the public alike that America will always regard itself as the “senior partner” in all of its bilateral relations.

This arrogance isn’t just offensive, but it’s also counterproductive from the perspective of the US’ objective national interests since it reduces the chances that others like Vietnam will more closely cooperate with it against third countries like China.

The journalism industry is in a severe downturn, with over 8,000 job cuts reported across the US, UK, and Canada last year alone. The first half of this year has already seen more than 1,000 layoffs from traditional newspapers, online media outlets, and even leftist nonprofit watchdog journalism organizations. The industry is crumbling in an election year as some conservative media outlets thrive. 

A new report from The Wrap says leftist media outlet The Daily Beast is “gutting its senior editorial team after implementing voluntary buyouts last month, with nearly 70% of unionized staffers leaving the outlet.” 

According to people with direct knowledge of the situation, some of the senior staffers taking buyouts include reporter Justin Baragona, political investigations reporter Jose Pagliery, senior national reporter Pilar Melendez, senior reporter Emily Shugerman, and many others. About 25 unionized staffers received the buyouts, which equates to about 70% of unionized staffers. 

The people expect upcoming layoffs later this month to impact non-union editorial staffers.

“We’re currently watching the collapse of The Beast,” one person told TheWrap, adding, “There is no doubt the site won’t be able to recover from this.”

“One of the first lessons of any company: Don’t alienate your core customer and piss them off so much they begin to call for a boycott against your firm,” the person continued.

The source is likely referring to the Daily Beast’s radical leftist reporting and boycotting of President Trump over the years. This type of reporting and commentary on Trump has made some readers highly skeptical of its stories. Remember when the outlet was sued for pumping disinformation about Hunter Biden’s laptop? 

More recently, website tracking firm Similarweb has shown steep declines in Daily Beast’s website traffic in recent months. 

Layoffs at the Daily Beast come as Press Gazette estimates total journalism industry job cuts in the UK, US, Ireland, and Canada total at least 1,000 in January, 615 in February, 30 in March, and 77 in April. Last year, at least 8,000 media job cuts were seen across the three countries. 

Press Gazette listed a timeline of the latest media job cuts:

The Daily Beast – At least 25 people

The Daily Beast has implemented voluntary buyouts accepted by 25 unionised staffers, or almost 75% of union members in the newsroom.

According to The Wrap those taking buyouts include media reporter Justin Baragona, political investigations reporter Jose Pagliery, senior national reporter Pilar Melendez and senior reporter Emily Shugerman. The outlet reported that senior staffers are heavily represented in the departures.

A further round of layoffs for non-unionised journalists is expected to follow.

A Daily Beast spokesperson said: “With such a generous severance offer, we anticipated a large number of employees would take the voluntary buyout. We are not at all surprised.

“These numbers allow us to move forward with our plan to secure the financial future of the Beast and rebuild a newsroom that will thrive in the current landscape. It’s always difficult when dedicated employees choose to step away. We thank them and wish them the best in their future endeavors.”

Evening Standard – 150 jobs

About 150 jobs are expected to be cut as a result of the Evening Standard’s planned closure of its daily newspaper edition and relaunch as a weekly title. A date for the changes and end to the daily paper has not yet been set.

The proposed redundancies reportedly include 70 editorial roles. The Standard newsroom is currently made up of around 120 full-time journalists, meaning it would be more than halved.

The cuts are also expected to affect more than 40 back office jobs and around 45 roles in its printing and distribution operations, according to The Telegraph.

The Hollywood Reporter – ‘Small number’

A “small number” of editorial layoffs were made at The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday 13 June, according to The Wrap.

Those affected included longtime TV editor Lesley Goldberg and senior editor of diversity and inclusion Rebecca Sun.

Goldberg said on X: “To the next generation of THR ‘legacies’, continue to know your worth and do your best to find work-life balance and listen to the words of wisdom of those you respect most. As for me, I’m holding onto two of the most valuable things I’ve learned in my time at THR: good things will always follow bad situations, and Henry Winkler really is as wonderful as everyone who has ever met him says he is.”

Informa Tech – Unknown number

Informa has closed two long-running B2B titles: Digital TV Europe and Television Business International.

Informa would not confirm the number of jobs affected but a farewell message from TBI editor Richard Middleton referenced several staff members including a deputy editor, senior sales manager, marketing chief art director and product manager.

Digital TV Europe staff at the time of the closure appeared to include an associate editor and a strategic account manager.

May 2024

Wall Street Journal – At least 8 people

At least eight journalists have been laid off amid further cuts at the Wall Street Journal amid a change in how it covers US news “and how we write about the big subjects that grip America”.

US news will no longer be a standalone coverage area and the East Coast, mid-US and West Coast regional bureaux are closing.

“Many” of the US news reporters are moving into other teams in the newsroom “in which they are natural fits: real estate moves to finance and economics; reporters covering state and local politics join the politics team; education moves to life and work. And some reporters will move to a new National Affairs team that will take on big topics – abortion, immigration, land use, guns, race,” editor Emma Tucker told staff.

The “speed and trending” desk is converting into a new breaking news desk and the layoffs come from this team as well as the US news team. NPR reported that at least eight people’s jobs are affected.

Journalists stuck post-it notes on the windows of Tucker’s office in protest at the job cuts.

A WSJ spokesperson said: “Our editor-in-chief is reshaping our newsroom with an eye towards digital growth, subscription growth and high-quality journalism. While we recognise change can be difficult, it is necessary to ensure we have the right structure in place to support our objectives.”

April 2024

Reader’s Digest – Unknown number

Reader’s Digest magazine has closed in the UK, its editor-in-chief of six years announced on 29 April.

Eva Mackevic said: “Unfortunately, the company just couldn’t withstand the financial pressures of today’s unforgiving magazine publishing landscape and has ceased to trade.”

The number of full-time jobs affected has not been confirmed. Mackevic told freelance writers waiting to be paid that they should be hearing from insolvency practitioners.

GB News – 40 people

GB News is aiming to cut 40 roles, initially via voluntary redundancies. Staff are being offered up to two months’ salary and possible payment in lieu of notice to entice them at the initial stage.

Wall Street Journal – At least 11 people

At least 11 people have been affected in the second round of layoffs at The Wall Street Journal so far this year, including four producers on the visuals desk, two social media editors, two video journalists, a senior video journalist, a video producer, and one reporter, according to The Daily Beast.

It was reported that some of the video employees were laid off as a result of the end to a Google partnership that funded the development of Youtube channels based around individual journalists or subject matters.

Open Democracy – Around 10 people

Several Open Democracy journalists announced on 10 April that they were being made redundant – including its head of news, news editor, political correspondent and two reporters.

Press Gazette understands the cuts are also affecting the commercial side of the nonprofit organisation.

Chief executive Satbir Singh and editor-in-chief Aman Sethi said Open Democracy has been hit by “wider industry trends that include rising inflation and an uncertain funding environment” and which have been exacerbated by the end to some of its funding.

The business expects to return to a break even position once the redundancy round is complete.

Mail Sport – Up to 15

Mail Sport journalists were told on 10 April of an upcoming “significant restructuring” as the brand’s transition to prioritising digital continues.

Mail Newspapers global publisher of sport Lee Clayton told staff, in a memo seen by Press Gazette, that there need to be “changes in how we are set up as a desk with a digital team leading the commissioning process, supported by newspaper experts who can publish print editions to tight deadlines.

“With that in mind, we will be embarking on a significant restructuring of the department over the coming weeks.”

Press Gazette subsequently reported that the restructuring was believed to affect up to 15 sports staff including cricket correspondent Paul Newman, racing correspondent Marcus Townend, Spanish football reporter Pete Jenson and chief sports reporter Matt Hughes, as well as several production staff.

The Times – At least one person

Times chief football writer of eight years Henry Winter announced on 10 April he has been made redundant.

At the time of writing Press Gazette has not yet been able to confirm if Winter was the only person affected or if other roles have been made redundant at the same time.

March 2024

i-D Magazine – 8 people

Redundancies have been made in the UK at fashion title i-D magazine, which was saved from a struggling Vice Media by model and entrepreneur Karlie Kloss in November.

Eight staff in editorial or social media were let go, as first reported by Puck News fashion correspondent Lauren Sherman and confirmed by Press Gazette.

The magazine is said to be moving towards a reliance on contributors and five of those eight people have accepted a contributor role, Press Gazette understands.

Around 19 people remain on staff in the UK, including about eight in editorial and social plus the publishing director. There are plans for i-D to return to print in the autumn.

Kloss formed Bedford Media to run i-D. Bedford Media announced on 28 March it is also relaunching Life magazine under an agreement with Dotdash Meredith on a regular, but unspecified, schedule.

Deadspin – Around 11 people

G/O Media has sold sports blog Deadspin to European start-up Lineup Publishing.

All staff have been laid off as a result of the sale as Lineup plans to go with a “different content approach”. Around 11 people are affected, according to Adweek.

A memo from G/O Media chief executive Jim Spanfeller, reported by Dailymail.com, said: “I do want to make it clear that we were not actively shopping Deadspin.

“The rationale behind the decision to sell included a variety of important factors that include the buyer’s editorial plans for the brand, tough competition in the sports journalism sector, and a valuation that reflected a sizable premium from our original purchase price for the site.”

He added: “Deadspin’s new owners have made the decision to not carry over any of the site’s existing staff and instead build a new team more in line with their editorial vision for the brand.

“While the new owners plan to be reverential to Deadspin’s unique voice, they plan to take a different content approach regarding the site’s overall sports coverage. This unfortunately means that we will be parting ways with those impacted staff members, who were notified earlier today.”

Center for Public Integrity – Around 11 people

US nonprofit news organisation the Center for Public Integrity, founded in 1989, reportedly laid off staff on 8 March.

The Center’s union said 11 people were being laid off, “more than half” the union’s unit. The New York Times later said less than half the overall staff were affected.

The NYT reported about a week earlier that the newsroom fell about $2.5m short of its budget goal of around $6m in 2023 and it was considering merging with a competitor or shutting down.

TalkTV – Unknown number

An unspecified number of redundancies were expected at TalkTV as News UK pulled the plug on its linear TV format to focus on cross-platform video content.

Update: TalkTV staff later began tweeting about their redundancies with TalkTV’s last day on linear on 26 April.

February 2024

Cord Cutters News – Three people

Cord Cutters News, a US-based website centred on streaming services and devices and largely funded by affiliate links, has laid off three people.

Editor-in-chief Roger Cheng announced on 23 February he and two reporters were leaving after their positions were “eliminated amid the company’s shift in focus to Youtube”.

“I had fun learning about the ins and outs of the streaming world, and proud of some of the bigger stories I wrote,” Cheng said.

The site’s owner Luke Bouma, who launched Cord Cutters News ten years ago, wrote on the website on the same day that they plan to “give a renewed focus on helping people know all their options to save money on TV, phone, and related product and service reviews” and “focus more heavily on our YouTube channels, including our main Cord Cutters News channel and our second channel The Breakdown with Luke, where you can find reviews of a range of products”.

WAMU – 15 people

Washington DC’s NPR affiliate WAMU is laying off 15 people and shutting down local news site DCist, Axios revealed on 23 February.

Ten new positions are being added at the same time as it invests in and priorities audio.

Chief content officer Michael Tribble told Axios: “We feel like this is the best way for us to engage and build loyalty.”

Vice – ‘Several hundred’ people

Vice told staff it was “eliminating several hundred positions” on 22 February and will no longer publish content on vice.com.

Vice chief executive Bruce Dixon said in a memo it was “no longer cost-effective for us to distribute our digital content the way we have done previously” and they will instead “look to partner with established media companies to distribute our digital content, including news, on their global platforms, as we fully transition to a studio model”.

Engadget – Ten people

Yahoo-owned tech site Engadget is laying off ten people and restructuring into two teams: “news and features” focusing on traffic growth and “reviews and buying advice” reporting to commerce leaders.

Editor-in-chief Dana Wollman and managing editor Terrence O’Brien announced that they were among the departures. Wollman noted: “To its credit, Yahoo has a decent severance program.”

A spokesperson told The Verge on 22 February: “Engadget has played a vital role in tech journalism for 20 years and we’re confident that these efficiencies will support future growth and set us up for the long-term as we continue to deliver the best experience for our readers.”

Buzzfeed – 16% of staff (possibly up to 190 people)

Buzzfeed is planning to cut 16% of staff, Axios revealed on 21 February, making savings of $23m. The plan follows the sale of its entertainment brand Complex for $108.6m to livestream shopping platform NTWRK, after acquiring it for $300m in 2021.

At the end of 2022 Buzzfeed had 1,368 employees. It laid off about 180 people in April 2023 with the closure of Buzzfeed News, so these latest layoffs may have affected up to around 190 people.

Now This – At least 26 people

US-based social media news publisher Now This made redundancies on 15 February, although the total is not yet known.

The journalists laid off included Mike Madden, who led the Now This Tiktok team, senior writer PJ Evans, and senior producer Jasmine Amjad.

The Now This journalists’ union said 26, or 50% of their members, had been affected.

The Intercept – 15 people

US investigative nonprofit The Intercept, which was co-founded by Glenn Greenwald, laid off 15 people on 15 February. Editor-in-chief Roger Hodge left in the changes.

A memo to staff said it was “facing significant financial challenges” like other media outlets and needs to make changes to become sustainable.

It said: “With the board’s approval, the leadership team has a plan that we believe paves the way for a more sustainable financial foundation for The Intercept so that we can continue to produce high-quality investigative journalism.

“We have also implemented other cost-saving measures, including significant salary cuts for the leadership team and the flattening of the management team, to minimise the impact as much as possible.”

CBS News – Around 20 people

Around 20 people have been laid off at CBS News in Washington DC, New York and Los Angeles as part of wider cutbacks at parent company Paramount Global affecting 800 people.

The CBS News staffers made redundant reportedly include chief national affairs and justice correspondent Jeff Pegues and senior investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge.

Bustle Digital Group – 16 people

Adweek has reported that seven editorial staff at Bustle Digital Group title Fatherly have been laid off and that the site will “significantly decrease” its output.

Adweek also revealed that nine full-time employees across the Bustle, Romper and Elite Daily brands were let go in January but this had not previously been reported.

Wall Street Journal – Around 20 people

Sixteen reporters and one columnist were let go in a shake-up of the Wall Street Journal’s Washington DC coverage on 1 February, according to the Daily Beast. An unspecified number of editors are also thought to have been affected.

Editor-in-chief Emma Tucker told staff: “The new Washington bureau will focus on politics, policy, defense, law, intelligence and national security. Damian Paletta, our new Washington coverage chief, starts next week and will focus our efforts in these areas to deliver work that serves the readers and stands out from the competition.

“This means the Business team in Washington is closing as is the Washington-based U.S.-China team. Stories covered by these groups will be driven by various teams in the newsroom. We are also changing the editing structure in the bureau and are closing the D.C. News Desk; those editing functions will be handled elsewhere in the bureau or on the news desk in New York.”

Journalism job cuts in January 2024

The Messenger – About 300 people

Jimmy Finkelstein’s digital news start-up The Messenger abruptly closed on Wednesday 31 January, with many staff finding out from New York Times, Semafor and Axios reporting rather than management.

Editor Dan Wakeford reportedly told staff he was “not in the loop” on Slack minutes before the channel shut down.

The website was wiped less than four hours later. Staff have spoken out about being left with no severance and no health insurance.

Tech Crunch – About eight people

Tech Crunch reportedly laid off about eight people on Monday 29 January, with Adweek reporting it plans to “refocus its coverage around the investors, founders and startups of Silicon Valley”.

Tech Crunch is also winding down its paid subscription product, which first launched in 2019 and was rebranded to its current guise in 2021. It aimed to provide “advice and analysis to help startups” with interviews, newsletters, weekly coaching sessions, ad-free access to Tech Crunch, and more.

Altfi – Up to 15 people

London-based fintech news website Altfi announced on Friday 26 January it was closing down after ten years.

In a farewell note, the team told readers: “Whilst our purpose, journalism and brand following has never been in doubt, we have faced severe headwinds over the last 18 months.”

The Evening Standard reported that Altfi listed 15 members of staff on its website.

Forbes – Less than 3% of staff (which could be up to 15 people)

Forbes staff were told on Thursday 25 January – the same day as union members were on their first day of a three-day walkout over contract negotiations – that it planned to reduced staff by less than 3%.

Forbes has 500 employees worldwide, according to its website, meaning the layoffs could affect up to 15 people.

Forbes Media chief executive Mike Federle told staff: “Over the past few years, we’ve continued to find ways to diversify our business and revenue streams, and we’ve seen significant growth as a result.

“As we continue to position ourselves to fully align with our 2024 business strategy, we have had to reprioritize some resources so that our organization can meet those goals. These changes have resulted in the difficult decision to reduce staff in certain areas.”

Business Insider – 8% of staff (which could be up to 70 people)

Business Insider told staff on Thursday 25 January it planned to make 8% of staff worldwide redundant.

It came less than a year after the Axel Springer-owned title, which then had a headcount of 950 worldwide, laid off 10% of staff in the US.

Chief executive Barbara Peng told staff that while Business Insider “closed out last year [2023] with a plan in place, a clear target audience and a vision”, 2024 would be about “making it happen and focusing our company”.

“Unfortunately, this also means we need to scale back in some areas of our organisation.”

Time magazine – Around 30 people

Around 30 people were laid off from Time magazine on Tuesday 23 January, including about 13, or 15%, of its union-represented editorial employees, according to CNN.

The union reported that the layoffs included the majority of staff at the publisher’s news publication for children, Time for Kids.

Time chief executive Jessica Sibley told staff: “We have worked to manage expenses in other areas of our business aggressively to minimize the impact of this decision on our employees. All of these actions have moved us considerably closer to being a profitable company, an achievement we must reach to realize Time’s full potential.

“While this was not an easy decision to make, it is the necessary step we must take in order to drive our business forward and improve our financial position as an organization.”

Pink News – Nine staff at risk

LGBTQ+ publisher Pink News put nine roles at risk of redundancy in its editorial, brand and people teams. The roles at risk include news editor, entertainment editor, weekend editor, head of brand, and marketing manager.

The UK-based publisher blamed an “unpredictable financial year… which has necessitated strategic changes to our growth priorities”. The company is leaning into video, it said.

Los Angeles Times – 115 people

The Los Angeles Times announced it was laying off at least 115 people, or more than 20% of the newsroom, on Tuesday 23 January.

The title’s owner Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong said the cuts were necessary because it could “no longer lose $30 million to $40 million a year without making progress toward building higher readership that would bring in advertising and subscriptions to sustain the organization”, the newspaper reported.

The Washington bureau, photography and sports departments and video unit were particularly hard-hit, it added.

Soon-Shiong has owned the Times for almost six years, after buying it from Tribune Publishing along with the San Diego Union-Tribune for $500m.

It came just six months after Los Angeles Times cut 74 roles in the newsroom, or about 13%.

Mediahuis Ireland – Around 50 people

Mediahuis Ireland is seeking voluntary redundancies with the aim of cutting costs by €4m annually. Compulsory redundancies could follow if there is not enough staff uptake.

The publisher of newspaper titles including the Irish Independent, Sunday World and Belfast Telegraph, as well as regionals such as The Kerryman and Wexford Times told staff on Tuesday 23 January it was seeking to reduce headcount by around 10%.

Around 549 people work for Mediahuis Ireland – 338 in journalism roles and 211 in areas like technology, HR and finance, according to the Irish Independent. Around 50 jobs are therefore expected to go, with 30 in editorial.

Chief executive Peter Vandermeersch told staff: “I am convinced that our strategy is the right one: to restructure our business to make this a leaner, more streamlined news organisation with the most efficient processes and systems possible, while continuing to produce the highest quality journalism and diversifying our revenues to build a sustainable future for our company.”

It comes less than a year after a previous round of voluntary redundancies. Its current headcount is already down by about 35% from when Mediahuis bought Irish news publisher Independent News and Media in 2019.

Sports Illustrated – Most, if not all, staff

Most, if not all, of Sports Illustrated’s staff were laid off after the publisher’s failure to pay a licensing fee saw the licence revoked.

The exact numbers of job losses are unclear but it was a heavy hit to the 70-year-old magazine. The Sports Illustrated Union said it had been told of plans to lay off “a significant number, possibly all”, of its members, who work in editorial, on Friday 19 January. According to NPR, the union represented 82 Sports Illustrated employees, or 80% of staff.

Sports Illustrated owner Authentic Brands Group said it had ended its licensing agreement with The Arena Group, with Front Office Sports reporting this was because Arena missed a $3.75m payment three weeks earlier.

Authentic Brands Group bought Sports Illustrated’s IP for $110m in 2019 and soon began licensing it to Arena in a ten-year deal.

Union members were reportedly given 90 days’ notice, during which time there is a chance the licensing deal is resolved, but non-union members were let go with immediate effect.

Update: Minute Media, which took over publishing Sports Illustrated in March, reportedly hired back more than 90% of editorial employees who worked for it under The Arena Group.

Design Week – Three people

Centaur Media closed Design Week on 19 January. Three editorial roles were lost as a result.

The 38-year-old online magazine told readers that Centaur was shifting strategy to its “core audience of marketers, and focuses on training, information, and intelligence”. It had closed in print in 2011.

Pitchfork – At least 12 people

Conde Nast folded the operation of music website Pitchfork into men’s title GQ, with chief content officer Anna Wintour saying: “This decision was made after a careful evaluation of Pitchfork’s performance and what we believe is the best path forward for the brand so that our coverage of music can continue to thrive within the company.”

Pitchfork editor-in-chief Puja Patel left the company as a result on Tuesday 17 January, along with at least 11 other employees according to AP which reported that ten of those were journalists, leaving an editorial staff of eight.

Pitchfork, which launched in 1996, had been owned by Conde Nast since 2015.

Univision – Around 200 people

Televisa Univision cut around 200 jobs at Univision, a Hispanic network broadcaster in the US, on Wednesday 17 January.

The company said in a statement: “The evolution of the media landscape has required us to implement efficiencies and cost-cutting measures to meet existing demands and in turn, strengthen our business for the future. As a result, Televisa Univision has made the difficult decision to eliminate a small number of positions in the US across various business units.”

Cuts affected on-air personalities in news and sport as well as roles in departments like production, sports, digital, and communications.

NBC News – 50 to 100 people

Around 50 to 100 people were laid off at NBC News on Thursday 11 January, with a 60-day notice period and severance packages.

NBC News and its news channel MSNBC made a similar round of redundancies a year ago in January 2023, with about 75 people affected.

The Messenger – Around 24 people

Digital news start-up The Messenger, which was launched by former owner of The Hill Jimmy Finkelstein in May last year, cut about two dozen jobs at the start of the year.

The New York Times said it was a cost-cutting measure as a result of dwindling cash reserves, blamed on a difficult advertising market.

Major journalism launches/new job roles in 2024

The Lever – Nine people – April

US reader-supported investigative news outlet The Lever has expanded with the addition of nine journalists.

It began life as a two-person newsletter in April 2020 and now has a team of 19.

Managing editor Joel Warner said: “We’re thrilled that our reader-supported news outlet continues to grow and to attract high-caliber journalism talent that is breaking open huge stories week after week.

“This is a difficult time for the media industry, but our subscribership and our commitment to accountability journalism are making this expansion possible.”

The new additions include a senior investigative reporter, senior enterprise reporter, three general reporters, a senior podcast producer, a contributing news designer, a social media and marketing producer, and an editorial fellow.

The Digital Frontier – 20 people – February

A new technology newsbrand, The Digital Frontier, is launching in London with a 20-strong team, of which nine are editorial roles producing a website, twice-weekly podcast and daily newsletter.

Let’s not forget that the progressive watchdog journalism organization Media Matters has cut over a dozen staffers. The nonprofit is scheduled for a trial in April 2025 over its questionable research highlighting antisemitic and pro-Nazi content on X. 

The leftist mass media die-off is happening as American’s trust in corporate media plummets. X is fracturing the corporate media industrial complex.

Via Middle East Eye

Since the Israeli onslaught on neighboring Gaza following the Oct.7 Hamas attack, Egyptian soldier Mohamed Omar* has felt helpless. Omar, 23, has served as a patrolling officer in Egypt’s North Sinai, along the border with Gaza’s Rafah, over the past year. The region is part of a demilitarized zone according to security pacts between Egypt and Israel, and only soldiers with light weapons are allowed to be deployed there.

“It is painful to know that you can help, but you are shackled and cannot help rescue your people from being slaughtered,” he told Middle East Eye while on leave in Port Said, a destination for soldiers to rest before heading off to their units in North Sinai. “We’ve been watching and hearing how intense the Israeli bombing in Rafah is, and we see dozens of Palestinian families passing by the borders.”

Israel’s war in Gaza has so far reportedly killed more than 37,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children – Gaza’s Health Ministry says. Egypt, an ally of Israel since their 1979 peace agreement, has maintained a largely non-confrontational stance towards Israel since the beginning of hostilities in October, even after the Israeli army’s seizure of the strategic Rafah crossing with Egypt in May and the deaths of at least two soldiers in armed clashes with Israeli soldiers earlier this month.

“We train day and night, and repeat marching chants against the Zionist enemy, and we hear dedicated newsletters bragging about how ready the military is, but when this enemy is killing thousands of our brothers, we sit idle,” Omar told MEE.

Middle East Eye has met five Egyptian soldiers, including Omar, most of whom have demonstrated their dissatisfaction with the way the government is dealing with the war in Gaza and with the killing of their comrades on the border with Israel.

The young soldier considers himself and his colleagues “elite fighters” trained to withstand harsh conditions and fight sophisticated targets. His unit, he added, has been reinforced by more elite and well-trained units from the counterterrorism division in North and Central Sinai since October.

Omar lost two comrades in clashes with Israeli soldiers earlier this month, but their deaths have had little recognition by the Egyptian army, including its senior leadership and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, he said.

Amid silence from Egyptian authorities, two soldiers from Faiyum were laid to rest in their hometowns last month after dying in clashes with Israeli forces near the Rafah border. The two soldiers have been identified as Abdallah Ramadan and Ibrahim Islam Abdelrazzaq, who were both 22 years old.

Despite widespread sympathy for the slain soldiers, they have not received a military funeral or any high-level recognition, and state-linked media have not reported on their deaths.  

Omar said morale in his unit is low because of the killing of his comrade Abdallah Ramadan. Omar serves in a different platoon than the one Ramadan served in, but he said the response of the government was disrespectful. “How come the martyr Ramadan was not honored and his name was not mentioned, and there were no high ranks at his funeral?” asked Omar.

“When the lowest-ranking police conscript gets killed in a car accident, they get a military funeral, and Ramadan, who fought the Zionists, gets buried secretly. What a shame!” he added.

‘My blood will go in vain’

Omar said his superiors tried to calm them down after the death of Ramadan, explaining that “the enemy is trying to drag us into this to justify the killing of Palestinians and to use this as propaganda to tell the world Israel is being attacked from all sides”.

Similar reasons were also cited to the unit where Ahmed Tawfik*, 24, is serving in the mechanized infantry in Ismailia. “The moral affairs officer told us that Egypt is pushing a ceasefire, but the Netanyahu government wants to push Egypt into a war so it continues its aggression on the Arabs and Muslims.”

Both Tawfik and Omar are concerned that if they die in action during the current diplomatically complicated situation, their deaths will be for nothing. “I am concerned that if I get martyred, my blood will go in vain. Ramadan died and not a single bullet was fired to defend him.”

Tawfik said that morale in his unit is low as soldiers have similar fears. “The only thought that makes these men withstand the [compulsory] service is the possibility that they will die as martyrs or that they will die for their homeland,” he said.

“If the government continues to be apathetic, the soldiers will not be able to restrain themselves from firing at the enemy like the martyr Mohamed Salah,” Tawfik added.

Last June, Mohamed Salah, a 23-year-old Egyptian police conscript, killed three Israeli soldiers and wounded two others. He was later gunned down by Israeli forces.

However, Mostafa Marwan*, 25, a medic in Sinai, who is in his final months of service, said he is praying that Egypt does not go to war. “The thousands of conscripts you see … on TV in military parades, they are not the ones who are going to fight. There are thousands of soldiers who do not know how to shoot, or to take care of a wounded fellow soldier.”

Marwan said these conscripts are trained for only 45 days in basic camp and carry weapons that have been stored since the time of the Soviet Union. “What are they going to do in the face of a military that is supported by the strongest and most sophisticated military in the world?” the young medic said, referring to US backing for Israel. “I am not a traitor, but one has to be realistic.”

Marwan added that as a military medic he only has basic equipment even though he is a surgeon, and that his superiors are abusive and corrupt. “There are many ways to aid Palestinians, but the Egyptian military going to war is not the answer,” he said. “I am not surprised that the blood of the men on the front was cheap, but that is the result when all Egyptian blood became cheap.”

‘Forced to serve’

While Marwan is anti-war because of the unreadiness of the military, Tamer Samir*, who serves in Cairo in an air defense platoon, believes that Egypt should intervene to help Palestinians, but that he should not be in that military.

According to the Egyptian constitution, men aged 18 to 30 must serve in the military for at least 18 months, followed by a nine-year obligation to serve if called up for duty.

Having graduated from an international private university and coming from a well-off family, the 22-year-old Samir believes his conscription does not make sense. “Individuals like me who had the chance to be well educated and know languages should not be forced to serve and fight because we can help develop the country in other ways such as business or economics.”

Through a powerful connection, Samir’s family was able to secure the calmer posting, where he can go home every night, and only do administrative work. “I don’t really know much about war and politics, but I am looking forward to finishing my service.”

Like Samir, a lot of Egyptians seek connections either to skip or postpone conscription, or to get their service in big cities or in the administrative or business branches of the armed forces. The result leaves many underprivileged individuals and poorly educated young men on the front, on borders, or head to head with extremist militants.

“On the frontlines and on the border, you will find only soldiers from poor backgrounds – sons of farmers, workers, fishermen, and impoverished people,” Megahed Nassar*, a counterterrorism soldier in Sheikh Zuwied, who came to Faiyum to attend the funeral of Ramadan, told MEE. 

“Abdallah Ramadan, Ibrahim Abdelrazzaq, Mohamed Salah, are all sons of poor people, and they paid their lives for the nation, and the government did not pull a finger to fight for their rights or even to defend them,” said Nassar, who is also from Faiyum.

“Most conscripts are forced to serve, are poor, have no other alternative, and do not have a connection. They go to Sinai and either fight the Israelis or the extremist militants.”

*Names changed for security reasons.

Oil prices rallied for the second straight day, reaching their highest since April, on “price-supportive rhetoric” from the OPEC and its allies, said Tyler Richey, co-editor at Sevens Report Research.

The initial “knee-jerk selloff” reaction to the June 2 decision by OPEC+ to phase out voluntary oil-production cuts after the third quarter was “largely reversed and seen as overdone,” Richey told MarketWatch.

OPEC+ leadership “confirmed that they will remain flexible and only reduce their voluntary output cuts if market conditions warranted, and clarified increasing production is not necessarily a base-case expectation right now,” he said.

“Evidence of strong domestic demand at the start of the U.S. summer driving season, rising geopolitical tensions overseas and renewed hopes for a perfectly executed [economic] soft landing” by the Federal Reserve have also contributed to oil’s price rebound, Richey said.

Tonight’s API data is all we have to go on until Thursday (since tomorrow is a market holiday)

API

• Crude +2.26mm

• Cushing +524k

• Gasoline -1.08mm

• Distillates +538k

Crude stocks rose for the third straight week while Gasoline stocks drew down for the first time in four weeks…

Source: Bloomberg

WTI traded marginally higher this evening after the API data…

WTI broke above all of the major technical levels this week…

Source: Bloomberg

Geopolitics “returned as a meaningful influence on the markets in recent weeks, as there has been a resurgence in ship attacks in the Red Sea related to the ongoing Israel-Hamas/Hezbollah conflict,” Richey said. Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil and energy infrastructure resumed this week, with a strike at a refined-product terminal in Azov resulting in an explosion and sizeable fire at the facility, he said.

Sentiment in the oil market, however, is “fragile,” Richey said. “If we see any headlines that contradict any of those factors that have supported the latest rally, or even just an uptick in broad market volatility into the end of the quarter, we could see oil markets correct back towards the mid $70 a barrel range.”

Finally, we note that the disinflation that has buoyed hopes for The Fed’s first rate-cut, and helped Biden out, may be about to abruptly stall…

Source: Bloomberg

Of course, we are sure mom-and-pop gas station owners will be blamed though if prices do rise again!

Authored by Eric Lundrum via American Greatness,

On Monday, the Biden Administration’s attempt to rewrite federal Title IX regulations was temporarily blocked by a federal judge in Kentucky.

As ABC News reports, United States District Judge Danny Reeves described Biden’s new regulations as “arbitrary in the truest sense of the word.”

“At bottom, the department would turn Title IX on its head by redefining ‘sex’ to include ‘gender identity,’” Judge Reeves continued.

“But ‘sex’ and ‘gender identity’ do not mean the same thing. The department’s interpretation conflicts with the plain language of Title IX and therefore exceeds its authority to promulgate regulations under that statute.”

His ruling granted a preliminary injunction, thus blocking implementation of the new rules in the states of Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Another federal judge had similarly blocked the rollout of the new regulations in the states of Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Montana, thus bringing the total number of states to 10.

The decisions come after attorneys general in over 20 Republican-led states have filed seven different lawsuits against the new policy, which changes Title IX protections from being based strictly on gender to including protections for so-called “transgender” students, including those who want to use facilities that are designated for the opposite gender; the Biden Administration has claimed, however, that the new rules do not apply to sports.

Another preliminary injunction request is currently under review by another judge; if the judge sides with the states, it would further block implementation of the new rules in the states of Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Biden’s Education Department (ED) has asked the judge to deny the states’ request.

The new Title IX rules, set to take effect in August, would also have expanded the definition of “sexual harassment” on college campuses in a manner that critics say would be far too harsh against the accused and thus result in unfair burdens of proof placed on the accused, rather than the presumption of innocence.

In a statement celebrating Judge Reeves’ ruling, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman (R-Ky.) declared that “the judge’s order makes clear that the U.S. Department of Education’s attempt to redefine ‘sex’ to include ‘gender identity’ is unlawful and beyond the agency’s regulatory authority.”

In response, the Education Department released a statement vowing to “continue to fight for every student” as it defends the new Title IX rules.

“Title IX guarantees that no person experience sex discrimination in a federally funded educational environment,” said the agency in a statement. “The department crafted the final Title IX regulations following a rigorous process.”

This should come as a shock to exactly nobody.

Last week, the Treasury reported that in May, the US government collected $323.6 billion in tax receipts, it spent more than double that, or some $670 billion…

… resulting in a May budget deficit of $347 billion – about $100 billion more than consensus expected – and the second biggest May deficit on record, with only the Covid crisis peak of May 2020 higher.

As a result of the blowout May deficit, the cumulative fiscal 2024 shortfall once again surpassed the 2023 total, bringing the YTD deficit total to just over $1.2 trillion more than the $1.16 trillion cumulative deficit througth May 2023, and that’s with 4 more months left in the fiscal year.

Now, at this point, someone who still has a functioning brain at the CBO looked at the two llines and realized that with the final 2023 deficit printing just over $2 trillion, the CBO’s current forecast of “only” $1.5 trillion for 2024 looked idiotic at best, and like total propaganda garbage at worst. 

And so, moments ago – and, again, with just 4 months left in fiscal 2024 – the CBO took machete to its 2024 forecast, and in hopes to avoid looking like a consummate fool, hiked its 2024 budget deficit forecast from $1.5 trillion to $1.9 trillion, confirming that there will be effectively no difference in the fiscal picture between 2023 and 2024.

In its latest projections published today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicted that government spending would continue to, drumroll, rise. The CBO estimate of the budget deficit was $400 billion higher from the office’s last projections released in February, bringing the total to $1.9 trillion, up from its previous $1.5 trillion forecast.

The office attributed the 27% spike to several key drivers, including foreign military aid (i.e. covering up Biden’s crimes in Ukraine via constant military aid to the local regime), the Biden administration’s student loan actions, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s slower-than-expected recovery of payments made in response to bank failures over the past two years, higher outlays for Medicaid and increases in discretionary spending. Oh, and the $1.2 trillion in interest expense on Federal debt isn’t helping either, and is one of the biggest reasons why the CBO now expects a 2024 deficit-to-GDP ratio of 6.7%, up from the previous 5.3% pedestrian prediction.

Meanwhile, the cumulative deficit from 2025 to 2034 is projected to reach $22.1 trillion, which is 10% higher than the office previously projected in February, marking a $2.1 trillion increase.

Of course, by the time 2034 rolls along, the actual deficit will most likely be at least 10x more, but since gold will be about $100,000 by then while bitcoin will be the world’s digital reserve currency, none of that will matter.

“The largest contributor to the cumulative increase was the incorporation of recently enacted legislation into CBO’s baseline, which added $1.6 trillion to projected deficits,” the CBO said Monday. “That legislation included emergency supplemental appropriations that provided $95 billion for aid to Ukraine, Israel, and countries in the Indo-Pacific region.”

“By law, that funding continues in future years in CBO’s projections (with adjustments for inflation), boosting discretionary outlays by $0.9 trillion through 2034.”

Compared to the past five decades, the budget analysts said deficits over the next 10 years “are about 70 percent larger than their historical average” when measured “in relation to economic output.”

In other words, the US is now well past the Minsky Moment point of no return, and it will all come crashing down once the USD loses its reserve currency status.

As interest costs and spending on programs like Medicare and Social Security continue to rise, the CBO projects federal outlays will reach 24.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024 and 24.9% of GDP in 2034.

Of course, all of this is irrelevant, because even the CBO now admits that in the long-term, it’s game over as there is no inflection point that makes future deficits grind down to zero, even in the most optimistic scenario.

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

CNN data reporter Harry Enten expressed shock at just how much support Joe Biden has lost among Black voters, admitting that Donald Trump’s polling numbers are “historic.”

Enten detailed how Trump is on course to win around 20 percent of Black voters, around DOUBLE what Republican candidates usually achieve. In the demographic of Black voters under 50, Biden’s support has halved in just four years.

“I keep looking for this to change, to go back to a historical norm, and it, simply put, has not yet,” Enten declared.

‘I’m Like Speechless’: CNN’s Harry Enten Says Trump ‘Careening Towards A Historic Performance’ With Black Voters pic.twitter.com/aEKh3WPIDG

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 17, 2024

“In 2020, Joe Biden was getting 86 percent of the African American vote. Look at where it is now. It’s 70 percent, that’s a 16-point drop,” Enten explained, adding “And more than that, it’s not just that Joe Biden is losing ground. It’s that Donald Trump is gaining ground…from 7 percent, single-digits at this point in 2020, to now 21 percent.”

“We’re careening towards a historic performance for a Republican presidential candidate, the likes of which we have not seen in six decades,” the exasperated reporter proclaimed.

Enten continued, “Look at black voters under the age of 50. Holy cow, folks, holy cow. Look at this. Joe Biden was up by 80 points among this group back at this point in 2020, look at where that margin has careened down towards. It’s now just, get this, 37 points. That lead has dropped by more than half.“

Enten further noted that Black voters are “leaving in droves” to join the Trump train.

“I’ve just never seen anything like this. I’m like speechless because you always look at history and you go, ‘Okay, this is a historic moment.’ If this polling is anywhere near correct, we’re looking at a historic moment right now,” the reporter emphasised.

It’s not just Black voters either. Biden is haemorrhaging support among young people in general.

Is it really any wonder though? He’s 81, can barely speak and acts like a dementia patient. Worse still, the White House is pathetically trying to cover it up by suggesting the daily videos of Biden doddering around and having to be led about by the hand are somehow fake.

Practically the only base of support Biden has left at this point is that of overpaid out of touch Hollywood actors.

*  *  *

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Watch the Boeing Hearing Live: 

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Update (1536ET):

CEO Dave Calhoun says Boeing is ‘changing course’ on outsourcing. Essentially, this means the planemaker will bring more of the production in-house. 

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Update (1528ET):

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) tells CEO Dave Calhoun, “This hearing is a moment of reckoning … and about a company, a once iconic company, that somehow lost its way.” 

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Update (1501ET):

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. tells CEO Dave Calhoun:

“You’re focused on exactly what you were hired to do: cutting corners, eliminating safety procedures, sticking it to your employees, and cutting back jobs – all because you’re trying to squeeze every piece of profit out of this company.”

Hawley continued, “You’re strip-mining it – you strip-mining Boeing. It was one of the greatest American companies ever – it has employed thousands of people in my state. And you’re strip-mining it for profit and shareholder value – and you’re being rewarded for it. You got a huge raise.” 

“It’s working great for you, but for the American people – they’re endangered. For your workers – they’re in peril. For your whistleblowers – they fear for their lives. And you’re getting compensated like never before.” 

*    *    * 

Update (1453ET):

CEO Dave Calhoun attempts to explain how his $32 million annual salary is justifiable, considering all the ongoing issues and open investigations with federal agencies. 

*    *    * 

Update (1446ET):

CEO Dave Calhoun says Boeing mishaps outside the Alaska incident are downstream issues. The Alaska incident was a manufacturing issue.   

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Update (1443ET):

CEO Dave Calhoun addresses the supply chain snarls and says the post-Covid environment is very stressed, adding turnover with employees is high. 

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Update (1436ET):

At the start of the hearing, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun apologized to the families of the victims of the twin Max 737 crashes. 

“I would like to apologize on behalf of all of our Boeing associates spread throughout the world — past and present — for their losses,” Calhoun said.

*    *    * 

Update (1426ET):

Outgoing Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun is testifying this afternoon before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Investigations regarding ongoing investigations into Boeing’s quality oversight and production failures of commercial jets. 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who chairs the committee, began by stating that there is overwhelming evidence for the Justice Department to take action against Boeing.

Blumenthal said there are more than a dozen whistleblowers… 

*    *    * 

On Tuesday afternoon, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will testify before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, chaired by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), about the ongoing investigations into Boeing’s quality oversight and production failures of commercial jets.

“Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking action and making progress,” Calhoun said in his prepared remarks released by Boeing and reported by the Washington Post.

Calhoun said, “We understand the gravity, and we are committed to moving forward with transparency and accountability, while elevating employee engagement.” 

The top executive’s “far from perfect” comment understates the severity of the continued Boeing investigations by the Justice Department, Federal Aviation Administration, and other federal agencies since the early January door plug incident on an Alaska Air Boeing 737 Max flight. The exec is also expected to apologize to the family members of the victims who died in the two 737 Max crashes.

“We are deeply sorry for your losses,” he’s expected to say in opening comments, adding, “Nothing is more important than the safety of the people who step on board our airplanes. Every day we seek to honor the memory of those lost.”

And he plans to apologize to the passengers and crew of the Alaska Air flight: 

“We deeply regret the impact that the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 accident had on Alaska Airlines’ team and its passengers, and we are grateful to the pilots and crew for safely landing the plane. We are thankful that there were no fatalities.”

In recent months, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered Boeing to improve safety and quality before it could resume normal production, sparking plane delivery delays for major airlines, including Southwest, which had to downgrade its financial outlook for the year due to the delays.

Today’s hearing will focus on Boeing’s broken safety culture, two months after whistleblower Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour’s testimony about defective planes to the same subcommittee.

“I have serious concerns about the safety of the 787 and 777 aircraft, and I’m willing to take on professional risk to talk about them,” Salehpour said in his opening statement on April 17, adding,  “I was ignored. I was told not to create delays. I was told, frankly, to shut up.”

Ahead of the hearing, Blumenthal wrote in a statement:

“I look forward to Mr. Calhoun’s testimony, which is a necessary step in meaningfully addressing Boeing’s failures, regaining public trust, and restoring the company’s central role in the American economy and national defense.” 

In markets, Boeing shares are marginally lower in premarket trading in New York. Year-to-date, shares are down nearly 32% on the endless jet problems. 

The executives at Boeing have destroyed one of the world’s greatest aviation brands as competitor Airbus flies ahead.