April 25, 2023

"Nate Silver Out at ABC News... ABC News is expected to retain the FiveThirtyEight brand, with plans to streamline the data-driven site."

 Hollywood Reporter reports.

Silver founded FiveThirtyEight in 2008, eventually bringing it to The New York Times. Silver would go on to sell the site to Disney’s ESPN; it later was moved to the ABC News division. His departure will be the first time that Silver has not been involved in the site since it launched 15 years ago....

A lot of people getting fired these days.... 

78 comments:

Butkus51 said...

its that soaring biden economy

Chest Rockwell said...

I got laid off in December.

Turned out to be great circumstances as now I'm freelancing, making more money(and I was doing good), have a flexible schedule, and get to work on things I find interesting!

rehajm said...

A lot of people getting fired these days....

Credit to Ann for catching on quick if this comment implies coordination...

The termination orders from the top have been given. Quick work...I never expected the censoring to stop at Twitter but I'm a bit disappointed Elon caved so easily on the check marks and the 'state run media' labels...

rehajm said...

The wife had The Five on at the top of the hour yesterday and the top story was not Tucker out- did they say anything or did they follow the gag order?

TickTock said...

All the firings may be positioning for the 2024 campaign.

chickelit said...

Confucius say “media need to rebland self in United States.”

tim in vermont said...

Battlespace prep by the Democrats.

rehajm said...

The shtick at 538 was always about cooking numbers for people who loathe finance. I would think you need somebody numerically literate to create a semblance of credibility but maybe that's the last war. The rest of the media can just pull vapid quotes from the site and report them as truth, I suppose...

tim in vermont said...

Easier to cover massive fraud if they have their own people in charge of analyzing the numbers.

madAsHell said...

streamline the data-driven site

Streamline!! That's a euphemism I've never heard before, but it doesn't sound like they will be expanding the FiveThirtyEight brand.

Joe Smith said...

This election will be over before it begins.

Ds will have stockpiled enough votes (real or not) in battleground states that it won't matter.

Rs will have to play dirty to even have a prayer, but they won't.

There goes your country.

madAsHell said...

They could easily replace Nate Silver with one of those AI-bots. That would be streamlining.

RideSpaceMountain said...

Battlespace preparation. Pieces are moving.

Leland said...

He seems like a fit for Substack.

Ted said...

So they're getting rid of everything that made the brand valuable. (But keeping the incredibly memorable brand name -- because everyone knows there are 538 electors in the Electoral College, and it's even catchier when you spell it out.)

Steven said...



FiveThirtyEight once was usefully data-centric, whatever Silver's personal opinions, but it's been steadily becoming Yet Another Yappy Prog newspinion site, making all the same standard high-pitched barks, yelps, and howls in chorus with the rest of them.

traditionalguy said...

Propaganda creators work better when they are believed to deal in truth. But then the big billionaires want to buy them so they can to use that reputation for themselves. For example, Matt Drudge.

Rinse and repeat.

traditionalguy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kevin said...

A lot of people getting fired these days....

Shall we predict a slow rise in Joe's approval rating over the year to demoralize the electorate and suppress the vote?

tim in vermont said...

Speaking of battlespace prep, Biden just shitcanned the New Hampshire first primary, where a Kennedy would doubtless have run strong, and moved it to South Carolina, were he is strong. Iowa Caucus? Not even going to be an early state.

https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/4/25/23695876/joe-biden-democratic-nomination-primary-election-2024

Don't worry though: "And, with Biden likely to face only nominal competition in Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr, doing it this year has no impact on the ultimate result."

Sure, sure... Next he will pack the Supreme Court and strike down the 22nd Amendment as unconstitutional and declare himself President for Life.

Political Junkie said...

Smart guy. Not great on TV, but few people are.
I assume he is well off from creating 538, so he should be ok.

wendybar said...

The View is considered part of ABC News division. That is ALL you need to know about misinformation gets spread by the MSM.

Readering said...

Technically not fired. His contract about to end and will not be renewed. But he claims staff layoffs will cripple the operation. I read it for sports.

Deep State Reformer said...

Don't cry for Silver. He got paid for his efforts.

Wince said...

"A lot of people getting fired these days..."

Whatever happened to progressive discipline?

Static Ping said...

Might as well can people when there is a lot of noise and there is less likelihood to be backlash.

Or perhaps our conspiracy friends will be right again.

Sydney said...

A lot of people ARE getting fired! Makes one wonder about the financial status of their employers.

Narr said...

Being fired is one of the core life experiences. I've been fired more than once, and never suffered much because of it.

I've fired people too, of course.

The Vault Dweller said...

I feel like Nate Silver is more important than the brand name 538. Similar to how James O'Keefe is more important than the brand name Project Veritas, and how Tucker Carlson is more important than whatever it is they will call the show that takes his old slot.

Though on the other side of things, Don Lemon, not so important.

Michael K said...

They don't need no statistics to see the way the wind is blowing.

Greg the Class Traitor said...

A lot of people getting fired these days....

Well, that's what happens when you have a Biden economy rather than a Trump economy

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Althouse out at Althouse blog!

Greg the Class Traitor said...

Poor Nate. He sold his soul and competence for the left wing political agenda, and now has lost it all.

it's "tragic, simply "tragic"

I completely stopped respecting Nate when, during the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, he came out with some completely bullshit "x% chance that Kavanaugh lied during hearings", where X was well above 50%, despite not having the slightest bit of justification for his claim.

He's a whore, and like all whores he's being tossed on the junk heap now that he's not worth the cost

tim maguire said...

538 w/o Nate Silver is like Project Veritas w/o James O’Keefe. I don’t see it having much influence after this.

Owen said...

Quel dommage!

Owen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
gilbar said...

any chance? That they'll quit lying as much now?

Freeman Hunt said...

How is it FiveThirtyEight without Silver?

Earnest Prole said...

Hated in equal parts by the Right, the Left, and those who were incapable of comprehending statistical odds and margin-of-error calculations (but I repeat myself).

Narayanan said...

have not many of them learned to code already!!????
or able to hire coders!!!

FullMoon said...

"A lot of people getting fired these days.."

Spring cleaning.

Larry J said...

“A lot of people getting fired these days....”

Not enough.

Chuck said...

Nate Silver will do just fine. He’s an incredibly intelligent and talented guy.

I think it’s terrible if ABC gets to keep “Five Thirty Eight.” To me, that means, “Nate Silver.”

Mary Beth said...

I guess this has me wondering why Disney/ESPN/ABC bought the site in the first place. Did they need to be shown how to do data-driven analysis?

cf said...

creepy that the creators of organizations are the ones being fired.

Nate Silver WAS FiveThirtyEight, like James O'Keefe fathered Project Veritas. . .

Drago said...

LLR-democratical and Violent Homosexual Rage Rape Fantasist Chuck: "Nate Silver will do just fine. He’s an incredibly intelligent and talented guy.

I think it’s terrible if ABC gets to keep “Five Thirty Eight.” To me, that means, “Nate Silver.”'

Everyone should try and find someone who will love them as deeply as Maddow/Stelter Fanboy Chuck loves his media lefties.

Drago said...

Although I will say this, and I know this was much to LLR-democratical Chuck's chagrin, Nate Silver did call out the insanity of shutting down churches but leaving casino's and lefty preferred venues open.

Rabel said...

Prescribed firings.

They're all the rage.

Also, Lem for the win.

gadfly said...

What are the odds that Nate Silver will soon be out-of-work?

It is all Ron DiSanctimonious' fault for his attack on the largest employer in Florida, Mickey Mouse.

gadfly said...

Freeman Hunt said...
How is it FiveThirtyEight without Silver?


Nate Silver is not a member of the Electoral College, Darlin'.

Moondawggie said...

Well, when the central purpose of your "News Division" is to advance a partisan, political narrative/agenda, then the last guy you want on your team is is someone who actually believes facts count and understands statistical data.

Maybe Don Lemon or Susan Rice could replace Nate?

It's regrettable for Disney/ESPN/ABC that Leni Riefenstahl is no longer available.

Temujin said...

George Stephanopoulos is in charge of it now. Now the polls can match the news.

Drago said...

The Poor Man's LLR-democratical Chuck, gadfly: 'It is all Ron DiSanctimonious' fault for his attack on the largest employer in Florida, Mickey Mouse."

Yep. Ron DeSantis forced Disney to go woke across the board in all their theatrical productions and dumping billions.

Pretty savvy move by DeSantis.

Important Note: I'm just joking but gadfly the buffoon would likely not be hip to that.

Known Unknown said...

Silver was getting a little too red-pilled for the Mouse House.

Drago said...

Leland: "He seems like a fit for Substack."

Doubtful.

He doesn't actually have a following that would justify testing the waters there first. He might find it difficult to survive in the wilds of the open market.

His best bet is to find another lefty billionaire sugar daddy who will simply pay him to spout what he was spouting before.

Saint Croix said...

Althouse out at Althouse blog!

Replaced with AI?

And/or a rotating collection of law professors?

How do you replace an Iron Horse?

Google says...

try a pothead

planetgeo said...

The interesting thing to me isn't how many are getting fired but who. As in "the guy". O'Keefe, Tucker, Silver. And before them, Drudge. They're really the brand. The whole shebang.

Coincidence? Maybe. But for the moment let's consider the conspiracy possibility if only because lately they've proven to be correct more often than not.

For starters, what do these guys have in common? They're really smart. They've developed brands that have become valuable. They have many followers. The followers follow them because they are fearless truth tellers in their eyes. And, here's the important part, regardless of whether they are left or right, they can't be controlled. This.

They're not just being taken out, their brand is being assimilated. Repurposed. By whom? For what purpose? Who's next?

typingtalker said...

Speculation: Viewership is dropping ... ad revenue is dropping ... fresh interns can do the job for less. A lot less.

The networks just have to hold on until the presidential campaigns start rolling.

Big Mike said...

Not sure why this is supposed to be a surprise. Lots of people who found a successful firm and who then go on to sell it to a large corporation eventually find themselves forced out.

Tom Grey said...

Wonder how many of those fired will actually Learn To Code?

Funny, chatGPT is excellent at helping beg-int coders do the next step/ procedure, if they want to learn to use AI to help them code.

I'd guess not many will, tho. It's actually mentally difficult.

rwnutjob said...

Silver's going to getting the gold tucker will

Curious George said...

"Though on the other side of things, Don Lemon, not so important."

Black and gay and still got fired from CNN.

Curious George said...

"Lem the misspeller said...
Althouse out at Althouse blog!"

Nah, she has tenure there too.

iowan2 said...

I think it’s terrible if ABC gets to keep “Five Thirty Eight.” To me, that means, “Nate Silver.”

Unlike Tucker. Tucker was smart enough to own his program. His company produced the show, and aired it on FOX.

Silver, while smart in stats, is woefully ignorant of life.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Biden and democrats need reliable fake pollsters.

Biden is winning!
Trump is winning the R nomination.

It's all cooked and baked, folks.

rcocean said...

Silver had been getting it wrong, and doing hack work for years.

He'll always have his fanboys, who will argue that "ACH-UALLY, he wasn't really wrong, blah,blah" but most people have stopped considering Silver some great Stats guru or predictor of elections.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

The left do two things at once. They bog Trump down with legal and other lies - then promote him in the polls as the obvious R nominee.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Drago - do supply links to your claims.

Also curious is the fact that if FOX wants to fire all the pro-Trump folks - he should have started with Hannity.

Hannity is the Trump train on Fox. Not Tucker.


And - curious how Fox is expected (by you) to be a candidate promotion center.
If so - why is Hannity still there?

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Also proof of your and Trump's idiocy - drago.

Trump claims DeSantis was elected because of Trump! - Now Trump turns around and calls DeSantis the worst governor in the US. What an asshole.

mikee said...

Battlespace preparation for the re-election campaign of Dr. Jill Biden.

rcocean said...

Drudge was replaced at "Drudge Report" without any fanfare. Then people started to notice a change in the website.

The Site was no longer indie/Right, THEY had taken over. It was assimilated. And is now, "under control".

If someone "body snatches" Althouse, what will be the signs? Generic pictures, devoid of people. Less and less personal and music/art content. More and more political content with no interesting angles, and little disagreement with the MSM narrative. Etc. And then...ads.

Corporate Althouse.

Drago said...

Flip-side Inga (HBTPFH): "Trump claims DeSantis was elected because of Trump!"

DeSantis is on the record thanking Trump for getting him over the hump during the 2018 republican primary in Florida when Ron started out slowly against Putnam. You should also review the DeSantis 2018 primary ads where DeSantis made the centerpiece of his campaign the Trump enforsement.

I realize the current political battle is driving you crazy and makes you want to rewrite history, but you'll need to take that up with your boy when he returns from his international trip.

Drago said...

Flip-side Inga (HBTPFH): "Drago - do supply links to your claims."

Yes. Many times. In particular with the Murdoch email quotes from the Dominion trial discivery process.

However, you neither follow them nor recall them and so its pointless with you as you are incapable of internalizing basic established facts and that doesnt appear to be a recently developed phenomenom with you.

You are truly the Flip-side Inga.

Drago said...

Flip-side Inga (HBTPFH): "And - curious how Fox is expected (by you) to be a candidate promotion center.
If so - why is Hannity still there?"

I do believe you have inadvertantly stumbled into asking a good question!

This is a first. Congratulations!

You may have noticed that Hannity receives very little criticism from any side of the aisle or political group or from management. You may also have noticed how many GOPe-ers are so very comfortable going on Hannity's show while they avoided Tuckers show at all costs.

That's because Hannity has limited ability to influence any voters on the right to change their votes or opinions, he defers to the establishment/deep staters generally and he has absolutely zero ability to affect views or votes of individuals in the middle or on left or populist left.

Compare and contrast that with Tuckers ability to draw younger demographics, democrat viewers in significant numbers as well as Tucker presenting hard hitting right-in-throat attacks against our corrupted govt and institutions that actually opens eyes and moves opinion in a populist direction which automatically helps political/populist outsiders like a Trump or an RFK jr which IS a threat to entrenched interests.

You will never actually hear anything on Hannity that you havent already heard a thousand times and nothing that really rocks the establishment boat.

Hannity is no threat in any way to any entrenched interests. His support of Trump is generic and changes nothing on the ground. He's a perfect non-threatening conservative to have around for the Murdoch/Ryan led Fox network.

Again, that was a very good question.

Now, you didnt mention her in your question but your question could be expanded to Laura Ingraham as well. The answer is pretty much the same. Laura doesnt "move markets" either so I would not be surprised if she slides into Tuckers time slot.

Drago said...

rcocean: "Drudge was replaced at "Drudge Report" without any fanfare. Then people started to notice a change in the website.

The Site was no longer indie/Right, THEY had taken over. It was assimilated. And is now, "under control"."

Correct. That happened in the summer of 2019 and Drudge clearly agreed to quietly step away while the "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers" process was completed so Drudge could still pretend to be "conservative" media that somehow mirrored all leftist media.

Drago said...

Flip-side Inga (HBTPFH): "And - curious how Fox is expected (by you) to be a candidate promotion center."

The only thing I "expected" was for Murdoch to follow thru on the plan he himself outlined in writing to turn Trump into a "non-person" and "pivot" to DeSantis.

This last Monday, the day of Tuckers firing, who were Hannity's big guests?

Ron DeSantis and Joe Manchin.... also a "hard hitting" segment on Don Lemon.

Transparent.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

You stick with Trump, DRago.

Drago said...

Flip-side Inga (HBTPFH): "You stick with Trump, DRago."

I will stick with whichever candidate most effectively fights for those issues I care most about.

A concept that appears to be utterly foreign to you.

You also have this bizarre and seemingly compulsive obsession to tell people what to do. You are very much the Blog Karen that regular Inga is...which is why you are the Flip-side Inga.