<An earlier version of this piece appeared in my free Too Much TV newsletter>
Penske Media Corporation might own the lion's share of Hollywood's trade publications, but I suspect it is wrestling with some of the same economic headwinds as its smaller rivals. However because it's a privately-held company, there is no way to know for sure.
Earlier this month, PMC-owned Variety laid off a small group of employees, most notably Associate Features Editor Sharareh Drury and Deputy Editor Diane Garrett. The publication also reportedly cut is print budget as well as the budget for freelancers.
And the situation at the sister publication The Hollywood Reporter has been just as challenging. Early last month, THR laid off TV editor Lesley Goldberg, who had been with the outlet since 2003. Other layoffs included senior editor of diversity and inclusion Rebecca Sun, THR’s vice president of business development and consumer partnerships Cathy Field, and what was described to me as a "handful" of other editorial and business employees.
Today, there was another round of layoffs at THR. In a late afternoon meeting with employees, it was announced the layoffs include Executive Managing Editor Sudie Redmond, Deputy Editor Degen Pener, Senior Copy Editor/Film Critic Sheri Linden, and video editor Colin Burgess. That follows the exit of special correspondent Lachlan Cartwright earlier this week. His name has been removed from the THR masthead.
A handful of employees at Penske Media were reportedly also laid off over the past week, in what a source described as "a handful of layoffs, primarily affecting business development."
When Goldberg was laid off last month, I also reported that there was an effort by PMC executives and new co-editor-in-chief Maer Roshan to shift the focus of THR in a more entertainment lifestyle direction, which has impacted its coverage of the industry:
There is an overriding concern from people both inside and outside the company about The Hollywood Reporter's ability to continue to produce high-quality reporting on a frequent basis. "I have certainly noticed a change in the quality of their stories, especially since the exit of Lesley (Goldberg)," I was told by a marketing VP at one of the major studios. This person spends a lot of time looking at the news coverage across the industry and helps determine where ad money is placed. "I usually scan through the Penske trades early in the morning when I first get to work," I was told. "It's not uncommon to see almost nothing new on the Hollywood Reporter site since the night before. They do have a really solid European reporter (Scott Roxborough), who frequently posts stories early L.A. time."
The perception that fewer stories were being published throughout the day was a common complaint I heard from people I spoke with on the studio side of the industry, particularly from people who were responsible for marking marketing decisions. "I don't have any real numbers I can point to, but just from watching THR in recent months, it feels as if the stories billed as 'new' are often things are fairly lightweight," one brand manager told me last week. "Interviews done days in advance, articles promoting new trailers and casting information. It's not that the journalism is bad. But it certainly makes THR a less vital daily read for me."
Multiple sources told me this evening that during the THR internal meeting, they were told that PMC wants its trade outlets to push heavier into a "digital first" approach, which includes more emphasis on social media. But according to participants I spoke with, it's not entirely clear what that would mean. As more than one person observed, THR's masthead is still heavy with editors who focus on the print side and contribute little to the outlet's digital efforts.
It's difficult to read the tea leaves based on recent layoffs and determine what Penske Media executives have in mind for the publication. If PMC does want THR to be more digitally focused, cutting digital freelance budgets and laying off Leslie Goldberg - who wrote extensively for the website - seems like a strange move. Unless the primary motivation is to save money. Variety's decision to axe Sharareh Drury also seems like an odd choice, given that I've been told she was heading up efforts to adapt the Variety Focus feature pieces for the web.
Over the past few months, I've been told there has been ongoing tension between the print and digital sides of the business. The print side delivers a great deal of prestige for PMC and it also helps build the events and video side of the business. But digital editors have told me they feel they aren't given the resources to deliver the number of pieces they are being tasked with each day.
Specifically when it comes to THR, there has the effort to focus more on lifestyle coverage, but then today the publication laid off an editor who is seen as having a lifestyle focus (Pener). And I have heard that THR's lifestyle efforts have been hampered by a lack of resources to expand coverage.
The bigger question is what is driving these layoffs. On the face of things, several layoffs appear to be targeting employees presumably making higher salaries, which may or may not signify ongoing financial challenges for the company.
Several sources I heard from tonight told me the impression they had received in today's internal meeting was that the decision on which employees would be laid off at THR was driven by decisions from corporate.
As I said at the top, I would not be surprised to learn Penske Media is having to tighten its belt as a result of the general financial malaise in journalism. There aren't any easy answers. But based on what I am hearing this evening, there doesn't seem a lot of confidence from employees that these corrections will have a noticeable impact.
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