Reach plc, Britain’s largest regional and national news publisher, is cutting around 220 editorial jobs and shutting three digital outlets, KentLive, AberdeenLive and GalwayBeo. Roughly 60 new roles will be created, resulting in a net reduction of approximately 160 positions. Web traffic across Reach’s properties fell nearly 40% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, with total revenues down 9% and digital revenues declining more than 11%. The collapse is driven by AI-generated summaries appearing directly in search results and by Google algorithm changes that have gutted referral traffic to traditional publishers. Reach is pivoting away from its high-volume, search-optimized content model toward quality video and audio, digital subscriptions, and brand visibility.
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