Condé Nast is set to roll Pitchfork into its larger GQ with a decline in ad dollars on the respected music publication’s side.
The news was revealed after a memo from Anna Wintour, Condé Nast’s chief content officer and global editorial director of Vogue, was leaked.
“Today we are evolving our Pitchfork team structure by bringing the team into the GQ organization. This 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,” said Wintour in the memo.
Max Tani, media reporter for Semafor, revealed the changes and added that “Pitchfork is going to continue publishing, but [the] future seems unclear medium/long term. I’m told this was a business side decision, advertising is stronger at other Conde brands like GQ. But don’t have much more info yet…”
Wintour’s memo added that redundancies would follow at Pitchfork, including editor-in-chief Puja Patel. However, it is unclear at the moment how many reporters will get cut.
In a joint statement, the Pitchfork Union and The NewsGuild of New York said that they “categorically condemn” the announcement and said that Condé Nast “plans to lay off eight Guild-represented members”.
The unions also said “Condé Nast management announced on Nov. 1 plans to lay off five per cent of its workforce. Since then, the Guild has been fighting on behalf of all affected workers. In a December meeting with Guild bargaining members, Condé Nast representatives said there would be no layoffs at Pitchfork.
“We saw on Wednesday just how untrustworthy Condé Nast management is”.
Wintour’s note said “Both Pitchfork and GQ have unique and valuable ways that they approach music journalism, and we are excited for the new possibilities together”.
