Online women's blog 'Jezebel' suspends publication

Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Jezebel, an irreverent online feminist blog on internet culture, has suspended operations and laid off its entire staff, the company announced Thursday.

Jezebel's parent company, G/O Media said it is restructuring its portfolio of digital news outlets.

"As of this week we are making the very, very difficult decision to suspend publication of Jezebel," Jim Spanfeller, company CEO said.

"Few decisions over the course of my career have been as excruciating, and I want to make clear this is in NO WAY a reflection on the Jezebel editorial team," Spanfeller continued.

Spanfeller said in a memo to staff that the company had tried to sell the publication, but that after talks with two dozen potential buyers, "we could not find Jez a new home."

Spanfeller described Jezebel as having a "storied legacy as the website that changed women's media forever," and said he had not given up trying to find a buyer for the publication.

"We have been operating over the last few quarters with an eye towards efficiency and being budget conscious," he continued in his memo. "I had been hoping that by doing so we could see our way through these dark times in our industry. And indeed, we held out far longer than most. But we can hold out no longer."

Spanfeller said ending Jezebel's operations and associated restructuring will "result in the departure of 23 editorial staffers."

"While G/O Media is a lean, nimble organization, we are not immune to the economic headwinds rattling our business," Spanfeller wrote.

Jezebel's demise comes amid a climate of weak ad revenue across the media landscape. Vice also announced cuts to its news staff Thursday. Layoffs have become increasingly common in the industry.

"Just about every company in our space has found themselves in similar circumstances," Spanfeller said.

Spanfeller also said G/O Media editorial director Merrill Brown would be leaving the company.

He added that "over the longer term, G/O plans to add new positions with updated or perhaps new goals in mind."

As part of Gawker Media, Jezebel published its first edition in 2007 with Anna Holmes as its editor in chief. It quickly became a leader in feminist commentary and articles focused on women's issues. Its editorial team supported risk taking among its reporting staff, which took unique angles to their stories with clever writing.

Now part of the mainstream conversation in popular culture, Jezebel started discussions about gender, sexism and the power balance between men and women.

G/O Media owns and operates several digital media outlets, including Gizmodo, Quartz and Deadspin.