G/O Media, the company formerly known as Gizmodo Media Group, has shuttered its news vertical Splinter and laid off the site’s staff. (Adweek)
Paul Maidment, executive editor of G/O Media, informed company staff in a memo of the decision Thursday. He said the company will “reallocate” Splinter’s seven-person team to other sites in the portfolio, which include Deadspin, Gizmodo and Jezebel. (Variety)
In an email to staffers, Maidment instructed editors not to publish posts about Splinter’s demise. He went on to issue a warning: “Any reference to Splinter in anything we publish needs my prior approval, as per our editorial policy. Please make sure all your staff are aware of that. You will be accountable if anything not approved by me gets published.” (HuffPost)
Univision, a Hispanic media giant, had acquired G/O’s portfolio of sites in 2016 as part of a bet on English-language platforms, only to unload them at a significant loss. Splinter traces its roots to 2013, when Fusion launched a cable network and digital operation in partnership with Disney. (Deadline)
The news comes just weeks after G/O said the group turned a quarterly profit for the first time since 2015 after slashing 25 jobs. (New York Post)