Jezebel is getting resurrected, underneath new administration.
Three weeks in the past, the previous proprietor of the feminist information and opinion web site, private-equity backed G/O Media, introduced it was shuttering Jezebel — and shedding the workers — after failing to discover a purchaser. Now Paste Magazine, an Atlanta-based leisure and tradition publication, has snapped up Jezebel, which has been “known for its fearless, female-empowering content,” per the corporate’s announcement of the acquisition.
Terms of Jezebel’s sale should not being disclosed. Paste Magazine is buying the Jezebel model and its archive of content material. As but, not one of the staff who most not too long ago labored at Jezebel are on board — however Josh Jackson, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Paste Magazine, mentioned he’s been talking with former Jezebel staffers about returning to the publication.
Jackson mentioned the acquisition of Jezebel marks a major step for his firm in broadening its attain. He mentioned Paste is dedicated to “preserving Jezebel’s editorial independence” and sustaining its “distinctive voice.” He mentioned after G/O Media shut down Jezebel, “We reached out to see if maybe we could be the ones to bring it back to life and to do it quickly.”
Jackson is planning to revive Jezebel with a “soft launch” this week with new content material written by Paste’s writers, earlier than he hires an editor-in-chief and different workers members for the positioning. “Our staff are all Jezebel fans,” he mentioned.
“We are honored to bring Jezebel back to life and excited to welcome the site into the Paste Magazine family,” Jackson mentioned. “The acquisition means that the critical information and content that Jezebel readers have come to rely on will live on… Jezebel’s unique voice and commitment to storytelling make it a perfect addition to our portfolio.”
In addition, underneath the cope with G/O Media, Paste acquired politics web site Splinter — which had been shut down in 2019 — and plans to relaunch it subsequent yr forward of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Jackson mentioned the cope with G/O Media, an all-cash deal, was closed Nov. 28.
Paste Magazine was first launched in 2002 as a music-focused print publication, which ceased in 2010 as the corporate pivoted to a digital-only mannequin. The web site covers music, motion pictures, TV, gaming, and different tradition and life-style subjects. The magazine’s mother or father firm, Paste Media Group, is owned by Bill Sagan, CEO of Wolfgang’s, a purveyor of music memorabilia.
Jezebel, which had carried a tagline “Sex. Celebrity. Politics. With Teeth,” was initially launched in 2007 by Nick Denton’s Gawker Media. After Gawker Media was sued into chapter 11 by Hulk Hogan, Jezebel and the corporate’s different websites (excluding Gawker.com) have been offered to Univision earlier than they ended up altering fingers once more in a sale to G/O Media.
Separately, the Gawker model was purchased in a chapter public sale by Bustle Digital Media, which pulled the plug on a rebooted model of the snarky web site earlier in 2023. BDG ended up promoting Gawker to Meng Ru Kuok, CEO and founding father of Caldecott Music Group, whose holdings embrace BandLab and NME.