Jezebel, the online women’s magazine known for its playful tone and biting cultural analysis is shutting down operations, according to a memo sent to G/O Media staff.
Jezebel launched in 2007 as a foil to women’s magazines, offering cultural commentary and news through a feminist lens. The landscape has since changed and other magazines, such as The Cut and Elle, have adopted elements of Jezebel’s formula. The magazine’s influence continued to decline after the breakup of its original parent company, Gawker Media in 2016. The publication was purchased by Univision Communications and in 2019, G/O Media, which also owns The Onion, Quartz, Kotaku and other digital publications, took over operations.
Other titles at G/O Media, will also see editorial restructuring, with a total of 23 staffers including Merrill Brown, the company’s editorial director, leaving the business.
“While G/O Media is a lean, nimble organisation, we are not immune to the economic headwinds rattling our business,” said Jim Spanfeller, the company’s chief executive. “I had been hoping that … we could see our way through these dark times in our industry. And indeed, we held out far longer than most. But we can hold out no longer.”
The CEO also cited a changing digital media landscape, including the rise of social media, as a factor influencing the company’s decision to shut down the title. The news comes at the heels of other publishers, namely Condé Nast and Hearst reducing their staff, due to economic pressures and increasing dominance of social platforms like Tik Tok.
The company had attempted to sell the title and had been in talks with over two dozen potential buyers, but the magazine “could not find … a new home,” Spanfeller wrote.
Learn more:
Condé Nast Set to Lay Off 5 Percent of Workforce
The publisher of Vogue and Vanity Fair announced in a note sent to employees that it would lay off 5 percent of its workforce — around 270 employees, primarily in its video division following a restructuring.
