Rich Tucker had survived a few journalism layoffs before. But nothing prepared him for the speed of his most recent career adjustment.
The company had just raised million from readers, telling investors the money would go toward "hiring experienced content and growth talent to maintain quality while scaling operations." Instead, Tucker and writers from three other state publications were summoned to a Zoom call at noon on a Tuesday. Forty-five minutes later, they were all fired.
"We were all treated as if we were security risks," Tucker writes, "even though we had all been working on our next editions that very day." Their system access was cut during the call. The next day, the company published all the stories Tucker had drafted—proof they trusted his editorial judgment, just not enough to keep him employed.
The company's co-owner had previously posted on LinkedIn: "Here's something we're deeply proud of: None of our content is AI-generated. Every single story, summary, and subject line is researched, written, and edited by real humans." He also wrote: "We believe local stories should be told by locals—people who actually live in and love the communities they write about."
Both promises were broken.
The writers knew changes were coming when the company launched AI-drafted weekend editions earlier that month. The AI wasn't ready for prime time—it made errors no human would produce, including incorrectly claiming UVa softball defeated Virginia Tech in a tournament championship. "We regret the error," the company had to publish.
Tucker worked intensely for 20 months, launching and writing the Flyover with just five days off total. "Hard work isn't necessarily rewarded in the modern economy."
"Humans are allowing AI to smother our creativity and upend our livelihoods," he writes. "We can still chart a better course, but it's getting late."