The New York Daily News was brutally gutted Monday, with the staff being reduced by a full 50 percent and the editor-in-chief replaced.
Parent company tronc sent out an unsigned email Monday morning with the news that it is “fundamentally restructuring the Daily News.” The email said the tabloid will re-focus much of its talent on “breaking news — especially in areas of crime, civil justice and public responsibility,” whatever that means.
Yet journalists are nothing if not resilient, and in the wake of the bleak news, some of the staff responded by holding their middle fingers up high.
Even better, someone—presumably from the social media team, which was completely laid off—took over the News’ Twitter feed and began tweeting snarky memes. The tweets, all of which echo the dark humor often seen in the tabloid’s punchy front pages, have since been deleted.
First came the “Confused Travolta” GIF, which shows actor John Travolta in Pulp Fiction, looking lost in an empty (news)room.
A GIF of Charlton Heston screaming “it’s a madhouse! in Planet of the Apes also made an appearance.
There was also a clip from The Untouchables, where Sean Connery’s character says, “That’s the Chicago way.”
Most recently, the Daily News tweeted a link to resetting lost passwords, with someone apparently mocking their former employer for forgetting to change the password before cutting the entire social media team.
Nicely done.