Dramatic wave of departures at Walla news desk within two weeks
A series of resignations at the Walla news desk over a short period: since Ilail Shahar took office as head of the news desk, 8-10 editors have announced their departure, including senior desk managers and the veteran homepage editor. A former employee: "Everyone here has either found a job or is looking for one."
A wave of departures at Walla. In the last two weeks, dramatic changes have occurred at the Walla news desk, with between 8 and 10 editors announcing their departure within a short period of just two weeks, since Ilail Shahar took office as head of the news desk.
Not only that: among the news desk staff who left, senior desk managers also announced their resignations.
Another departure from the news desk is that of homepage editor Raviv Shechter, who was also part of the current wave of departures. A former employee at the site said about the current situation at the Walla news desk:
"Everyone here at the news desk has either found a job or is looking for a job."
As recalled, Walla is indeed planning a broad wave of cuts with the goal of turning the site into a lean and limited model in terms of manpower, similar to the Maariv model. However, this was only intended for sections like Lifestyle and the like, and the wave of cuts was not on the agenda for the news desk. Apparently, the changes at Walla in general have also trickled down to the feelings within the news desk, and increased since the entry of the new head of the news desk, Ilail Shahar.
Ilail Shahar, head of the Walla news desk. Courtesy of the photographer
During last May, we reported that the former deputy manager of the Kan 11 news division, Ilail Shahar, is moving to the Walla group and will take the reins as head of the news desk.
The changes at Walla have made headlines recently, when during the month of May a series of senior journalists left the site, among them the editor of the Branza section David Wertheim, Amit Slonim, Nadav Manuchin, and last June Guy Elster, Nir Yahav, and others.
At the time, the journalists launched a sharp attack against the management following the changes at the site, and last December issued a letter in which they appealed to the management, claiming that they feel that editorial considerations have been replaced by target considerations only, and the professional space in which the desk operated has been shrinking.
In a letter from a few months ago, which the senior Walla journalists sent to CEO Gideon Ozan and the management in the new era of Eli Azur, it was written:
"We, the undersigned, appeal to the management of the Walla site with a sense of real urgency. In recent months, a deep change has occurred in the character of Walla: content management has moved away from journalistic hands, editorial considerations have been replaced by target considerations only, and the professional space in which the desk operated has been shrinking. The result is a substantial damage to our ability to produce reliable, critical, and quality journalism - something that is also reflected, among other things, in the traffic data."
Meanwhile, Walla continues to reinforce its ranks, and after the appointment of Ilail Shahar, Adi Gold was also appointed, who joins the culture section at the Walla site after having served as the site's homepage editor for the last six months.
