Overstory Media Group (OMG) has made another round of layoffs, focused on Victoria’s Capital Daily.
Among those caught up in Monday’s job losses were managing editor Jimmy Thomson, who’d been with the digital publication since 2020; journalist and copy editor Jolene Rudisuela; and reporters Brishti Brasu and Shannon Waters.
Best job I ever had, building and supporting that team. There are some exceptional journalists on the market today: @brish_ti, @sobittersosweet, and @jrudisuela. Hoping there aren’t more.
— Jimmy Thomson (@jwsthomson) January 30, 2023
~Some personal news~ I’m back to freelancing as of this morning, after @OverstoryMedia decided to lay off me and several other members of the Capital Daily editorial team.
Proud of the work we’ve done there these last few years, and disappointed in the direction it’s taking.
— Brishti Basu (@brish_ti) January 30, 2023
The cuts come less than two months after an earlier round of layoffs in December that saw Dustin Godfrey, Marco Ovies, and Kaija Jussinoja released by OMG. Godfrey was a reporter for the Burnaby Beacon and New West Anchor, while Ovies was a contributor to the Burnaby Beacon and Vancouver alt-weekly, Georgia Straight, which OMG acquired last September. Jussinoja was a reporter with Halifax alt weekly, The Coast, which the company took ownership of in April of last year.
Founded by former Daily Hive co-owner and editor Farhan Mohamed and Victoria tech entrepreneur Andrew Wilkinson, OMG launched in May 2021 with a goal to hire 250 journalists in the coming years as part of an ambitious plan for national expansion to encompass 50 outlets.
While the startup has scaled up with its acquisition of the high-profile Georgia Straight and The Coast, Overstory’s reach remains largely focused in Western Canada, with its publications including the Vancouver Tech Journal, Fraser Valley Current, The Westshore, Oak Bay Local, and Calgary Citizen, among others.
Wilkinson’s company, Tiny Capital, went public last week with an IPO valued at nearly $1B. Separate organization, Tiny Foundation, which Wilkinson runs with angel investor Holly Rohani Wilkinson, invested a million dollars in Canadaland in 2020. Wilkinson is also an investor in The Logic.
As of publication, Overstory Media Group had not responded to Broadcast Dialogue’s request for comment.
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