Newsweek Bloodbath: Company Fires Top Staff in Massive Editorial Shakeup [UPDATED]
What the heck is going on over at Newsweek? In a staff meeting, held earlier today, editors announced that the publication was firing just about all of its top staff, further shaking up the once-venerated magazine.
Who got the axe? The Daily Beast has reported that Editor in Chief Bob Roe, Executive Editor Ken Li, reporters Celeste Katz and Josh Saul, and International Business Times editor Josh Keefe were all delivered walking papers during what must have been one demoralizing meeting.
Newsweek has been plagued in recent months with a series of embarrassing missteps, from comparing President Donald Trump to notorious mass murderer Charles Manson to tweeting out inaccurate information to its many followers. One anonymous employee told The Wrap that the publication “has descended into a content farm for last-resort clickbait.”
The online-only publication has also faced its share of legal troubles in the past year, with Buzzfeed recently reporting that Newsweek had been practicing “fraudulent online traffic practices” to help secure an online ad buy from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The New York District Attorney’s office also raided the company’s office last month and “took pictures of their servers.” The DA has been tight-lipped on whatever case is being prepped against the publication, though it has been alleged that it has something to do with their finances.
Last week also found Etienne Uzac, the owner of Newsweek’s parent company, and Marion Kim, the company’s finance director, stepping down. Chief Content Officer Dayan Candappa was also put on leave following harassment allegations.
Silva has not announced a new direction for the digital magazine, or who will step in to fill the many vacancies. The rest of the publication’s staff have been sent home for the day. Newsweek has been around since 1933.
UPDATE 3:47 p.m. EST
Matthew Cooper, a senior writer for Newsweek, has announced his resignation, effective immediately, in a scathing letter to CEO Dev Pragad that questions if the publication still exists.
UPDATE 4:11 p.m. EST
According to Politico senior editor Michael Calderone, the staff at Newsweek has been informed that there will be a new editor-in-chief installed tomorrow.
[image via Shutterstock.com]
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