Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight on the ‘Chopping Block’ At ABC News: Report

Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight is on the “chopping block,” reported The Daily Beast’s ‘Confider’ media newsletter on Monday night.

Silver, who rose to fame as the data guru who correctly called the 2008 presidential election, is apparently facing the axe as ABC News joins in with the rest of the news industry in cutting costs.

“The oft-combative Silver, who has come under renewed scrutiny for his site’s polling selections, now faces an uncertain future as news division boss Kim Godwin reviews the publication, which has never turned a profit,” reported the Beast.

Silver’s FiveThirtyEight, along with the rest of the national political media, received a bevy of criticism following the 2022 midterm elections. The predominant media narrative ahead of the election told of an impending “red wave” that would result in GOP majorities in both the House and Senate. When no such “red wave” materialized, many on the left cried foul and blamed the media for driving a narrative that refocused resources where they perhaps were not needed.

The Beast reported that a final decision on FiveThirtyEight’s future would likely come this summer, once Silver’s contract with ABC is up. The Beast reported that, in addition to several sources confirming the dynamic, the fact that FiveThirtyEight has no been filling key positions is telling:

FiveThirtyEight has not backfilled key positions, including that of managing editor (Micah Cohen exited last year for data site Stacker), politics editor (Sarah E. Frostenson defected to The Washington Post), and sports editor (Sara Ziegler was poached by The New York Times). Insiders lamented to Confider that ABC’s lack of enthusiasm in building a subscription business around FiveThirtyEight has been a “missed opportunity” that could have turned the site into a moneymaker for Disney. But instead, ABC may look to offload the publication.

Silver’s website, which covers politics and sports, had made headlines surrounding a possible sale before. “In 2017, Silver held talks with both The Atlantic and The Athletic about a sale, two people familiar with the situation told us,” noted the Beast.