WGAE Members “Devastated” Over Closure Of Jezebel Amid Layoffs Across Parent Company G/O Media

deadline.com:

Writers Guild of America East members are reacting to today’s news of the shuttering of G/O Media‘s Jezebel after an unsuccesful attempt to sell the site.

The closure came amid word that parent company G/O Media was laying off 23 staffers, including Jezebel’s team. The company attributed the cuts to part of a restructuring to cope with economic headwinds and a difficult digital advertising environment.

The New York-based company also announced the departure of G/O Media editorial director Merrill Brown. “We are devastated though hardly surprised at G/O Media and Jim Spanfeller’s inability to run our website and their cruel decision to shutter it,” the WGAE statement said. “Jezebel has been a pillar of fearless journalism and important cultural commentary since 2007 and made an indelible mark on the media landscape. “The closure of Jezebel also underscores fundamental flaws in the ad-supported media model where concerns about “brand safety” limit monetizing content about the biggest, most important stories of the day—stories that create huge traffic because people read and share them,” the statement continued. “A well-run company would have moved away from an advertising model, but instead they are shuttering the brand entirely because of their strategic and commercial ineptitude.

Jezebel was a good website.” G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller announced the shutdown and layoffs in a note to staff Thursday. “As of this week we are making the very, very difficult decision to suspend publication of Jezebel,” Spanfeller wrote. “Few decisions over the course of my career have been as excruciating, and I want to make clear this is in NO WAY a reflection on the Jezebel editorial team.” “Unfortunately, our business model and the