Nonprofit local startup Houston Landing fired its founding editor-in-chief and a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Monday, just seven months after launching.
The terminations are part of the company’s push to become a “truly digital enterprise-driven news operation” and were not caused by financial pressures, said CEO Peter Bhatia. Houston Landing, a digital outlet that “seeks to strengthen democracy and improve the lives of all Houstonians one story at a time,” launched in June 2023 with more than $20 million in funding.
“I made a decision that we needed to make changes to achieve our goal of being a truly digital enterprise-driven news operation serving Houston. This was my decision and mine alone,” Bhatia said. “I regret having to do so; these are good people and outstanding journalists. None of this was driven by financial considerations. We are in great shape heading into 2024 and are beginning a search for an editor-in-chief.”
Both former editor-in-chief Mizanur Rahman and former investigative reporter Alex Stuckey shared on X that they did not understand why they were fired.
“I was not given a clear reason for this decision other than our CEO saying we needed a more ‘digital first’ direction,” Rahman posted. “This is confusing because we are digital only.”
Stuckey later told Nieman Lab that her firing had come after receiving a merit-based raise in December and that she thought her loyalty to Rahman may have been a contributing factor. During her firing, Bhatia told her that the Landing needed to rebuild its investigative processes and a “fairly comprehensive reset” to make the site “sustainable.”
The firings “blindsided” staff, who told the outlet’s board of directors in a letter Monday that they oppose the dismissals, which they believe will hurt the Landing. The letter, first reported by Texas Monthly, also revealed that the outlet had recently cut a column by Maggie Gordon that had covered local issues ranging from gentrification to voter access.
“Thanks in large part to Rahman and Stuckey’s mission-driven leadership, the newsroom has surpassed key benchmarks for readership, engagement and growth. We more than doubled our goal of achieving 1 million page views in 2023, while maintaining higher-than-expected engagement time,” the staff wrote. “The Landing’s impact tracker, our primary metric for defining success, includes more than 200 entries, twice the number senior leadership had outlined for the year.
“… Nothing in the Landing’s performance, to date, appears to justify terminating two senior, trusted and well-respected members of the newsroom.”
The staff further stated that though Bhatia had explained his decision to them, they remained confused: “We now risk significant damage to employee retention and recruitment. Further, the optics of such a massive restructuring during a moment of forward momentum will hurt our fundraising and financial efforts.”
In their letter, the staff requested that the six-member board respond by the end of business Wednesday. Asked to comment on the letter, board members redirected Poynter to Bhatia.
After the firings were made public, many staff members posted on X in support of Rahman and Stuckey. Former Landing managing editor John Tedesco, who is now the interim editor-in-chief, wrote that he disagrees with Bhatia’s decision and is not sure what he will do after a new editor is hired.
“I’m deeply sorry I didn’t do enough to protect Mizanur and Alex,” Tedesco wrote. “I told Peter I know he’s doing what he thinks is right, but I disagree with the decision and I fear this turmoil will cause our best and brightest journalists to look for the nearest exit ramp.
Houston Landing marks one of American Journalism Project’s largest local news initiatives. The venture philanthropy organization, along with three Houston foundations and the Knight Foundation, raised more than $20 million to start the Landing after a “two-year research effort” to identify a community in need of more local news. The American Journalism Project has helped fund 30 news organizations, including Block Club Chicago and Chalkbeat.
Prior to the launch, some media watchers were skeptical of the project as the city already has several local outlets, including the Houston Chronicle. Unlike the Chronicle, however, the Landing provides all of its journalism for free; it is supported by donations and sponsorships.
This article has been updated. Poynter media business analyst Rick Edmonds contributed reporting.
