Magazine publisher Condé Nast has announced a restructure that will see Pitchfork merged into the division that produces men's magazine GQ, resulting in a number of job losses at the music title. That includes Puja Patel, who took over from Pitchfork founder Ryan Schreiber as Editor In Chief in 2018.
The merger was confirmed in a memo to staff from the publisher's Chief Content Officer Anna Wintour, who said that the decision to bring the Pitchfork team "into the GQ organisation" had been made "after a careful evaluation of Pitchfork’s performance” and is “we believe is the best path forward for the brand so that our coverage of music can continue to thrive within the company".
“Both Pitchfork and GQ have unique and valuable ways that they approach music journalism", she continued, “and we are excited for the new possibilities together". However, she then confirmed, "with these organisational changes, some of our Pitchfork colleagues will be leaving the company today".
Brooklyn Vegan notes that a number of Pitchfork employees have confirmed on social media that they are impacted by job cuts, including Jillian Mapes, Evan Minske, Allison Hussey, Matthew Ismael Ruiz, Marc Hogan and Hattie Lindert.
Wintour confirmed that Patel was among those exiting, adding that the Editor In Chief had been "a wonderful colleague and advocate for the brand, and I’m grateful for her and the team’s many contributions".
Most music media have struggled over the last decade as they have faced increased competition for audience and advertisers from social media. Many have expanded their operations in a bid to secure other revenue streams - often through events and, more recently, membership products - with mixed success.
The magazine sector more generally has also faced many of the same challenges, and Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch stated last November that the media firm would be cutting about 5% of its total workforce in a bid to reduce costs.
However, in a statement criticising yesterday's announcement, the Pitchfork Union and Newsguild Of New York revealed that they were reassured in December that those cuts would not affect Pitchfork.
Wintour's memo, therefore, they added, shows "just how untrustworthy Condé Nast management is. The reporters, editors, producers, researchers and all the people who make award-winning journalism for Pitchfork deserved better than to be treated like disposable parts".