Assignments will be given to freelancers or stories will pieced together by editors. Photo contracts have also been curtailed. This is the latest in cuts and shuffles since  21 st Century Fox, and later Walt Disney Co., acquired National Geographic in 2015. Last fall, according to the Washington Post, Disney eliminated six senior editorial positions in a substantial reorganization.

In addition, the publication will no longer be sold on newsstands in the US starting next year. The title remains one of the most read mags in the US with 1.8 million subscribers at the end of 2022.

            The iconic brand was launched 135 years ago by the National Geographic Society, a foundation formed by 33 academics and scientists, including Alexander Graham Bell.