Slate lays off media writer Jack Shafer

Shafer was part of the original team that launched Slate with Michael Kinsley in 1996. The American Journalism Review published an unfortunately timed 2,500-word profile of him today, then Adweek broke the news that Shafer, an editor-at-large, was being let go along with four other staffers. He will remain a contributor. “These are tough times for publications,” Shafer told Politico. “They had to let some people go, and I was one of them.” Tim Noah, who writes Slate's Chatterbox column, and foreign editor June Thomas confirmed to Politico that they too were laid off.

Big day for longtime media writers. Earlier today, Poynter announced that Jim Romenesko would go part-time in 2012.