Publishing giant Condé Nast purchased Pitchfork in 2015, and Condé chief content officer and Vogue editorial director Anna Wintour revealed in a letter today that the site would be folded under another of the publisher’s titles, GQ. The letter, which was initially shared by Semafor media reporter Max Tani, reads, “Today we are evolving our Pitchfork team structure by bringing the team into the GQ organization. The decision was made after a careful evaluation of Pitchfork’s performance and what 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,” the letter continues, “and we are excited for the new possibilities together. With these organizational changes, some of our Pitchfork colleagues will be leaving the company today. I want to thank Puja for her leadership of the title over the last five years. She has been a wonderful colleague and advocate for the brand, and I’m grateful for her and the team’s many contributions.”
“Members of the Pitchfork team will hear more about their reporting structure in meetings this week,” the letter concludes. “There are no additional changes at this time as we focus on our internal team structure and operations. We will over course keep this team updated first when any new decisions are made about the transition.”
Puja Patel took over from founder Ryan Schreiber as Pitchfork EIC in October of 2018 (Schreiber left the company entirely in January of 2019). In addition to her, Jillian Mapes, Evan Minske, Allison Hussey, Matthew Ismael Ruiz, Marc Hogan, and Hattie Lindert have all confirmed they were also let go in messages on social media.
In the fall, Condé Nast chief executive Roger Lynch told the company’s employees that 5% of the workforce, around 270 employees, would be laid off. In early December, the Pitchfork Union wrote that none of its members were being laid off at that time.
UPDATE: The Pitchfork Union and NewsGuild of New York shared a statement about the layoffs:
OUR STATEMENT on layoffs at @pitchfork: “The reporters, editors, producers, researchers and all the people who make award-winning music journalism for Pitchfork, deserve better than to be treated like disposable parts,” said @susandecarava. pic.twitter.com/Rj4A9jE2MP
— NewsGuild of New York (@nyguild) January 17, 2024
There’s no word yet on what this means for Pitchfork Festival, or the site in general.
News: In a note to staff, Condé Nast announces that Pitchfork is being moved under GQ. pic.twitter.com/8NzvtYKFLB
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) January 17, 2024
I've referred to my job at pitchfork as being on a ferris wheel at closing time, just waiting for them to yank me down. after nearly 8 yrs, mass layoffs got me. glad we could spend that time trying to make it a less dude-ish place just for GQ to end up at the helm
— Jill Mapes (@jillian_mapes) January 17, 2024
https://twitter.com/evanminsker/status/1747713241004843113
I got laid off today and am not feeling particularly gracious about it right now! gonna take a break from…everything?…for a little while. holler at talktohussey at gmail and I’ll get back eventually 💌
— Allison Hussey (@allisonhussey) January 17, 2024
it’s official: I was laid off from Pitchfork today, along with what appears to be half the staff. While on parental leave.
if you’ve got work, i’m extremely available: reviews, news, and features, but also bios, curation, copywriting, and consulting.
mir83nj at gmail dot com https://t.co/F5PkXShxiG
— Matthew Ismael Ruiz (@PoRican) January 17, 2024
https://twitter.com/hatlindert/status/1747717806697693186
https://twitter.com/marchogan/status/1747734395094499769