Time Magazine is going on a shopping spree — for journalists.
Under the new ownership of Salesforce billionaire Marc Benioff, the company posted openings for 25 fresh positions, of which 22 are in editorial. Among the new openings, two national political correspondents, two health reporters, two technology reporters, and even a fact-checker (a position that has almost vanished in stripped down newsrooms across the country).
News of the openings was first reported by Politico Morning Media.
The hiring boom at Time follows a similar trajectory of once struggling publications rescued by benevolent billionaires. The Atlantic’s newsroom exploded after being taken under the wing of tech billionaire Laurene Powell Jobs, while the Washington Post is becoming a powerhouse (and profitable) under the stewardship of Amazon titan Jeff Bezos.
The good news for Time comes even as their former overlords at Meredith, have forced their employees to reckon with a future of devastating cutbacks. In March the company revealed they would aim to slash 1,200 jobs from the broader Time Inc. empire they acquired in November, 2017 and keenly search for deep pocketed buyers for their flagship properties.
The Benioff purchase was a relief for many staffers at Time Magazine, just as their sale of Fortune magazine to Thai billionaire Chatchaval Jiaravanon likely calmed nerves in that newsroom as well. The company is still seeking a buyer for Sports Illustrated.
Earlier this week, Time Magazine announced their first person of the year under new ownership, honoring former Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and several other reporters who have reported in what the magazine labeled a “war on truth”
“The manipulation and abuse of truth is really the common thread in so many of this year’s major stories,” Time Magazine editor Edward Felsenthal said during a reveal on the “Today” show Tuesday. “We chose to highlight four individuals and one group who have taken great risks in pursuit of greater truth.”