Metro Corp., which publishes Philadelphia Magazine and Boston Magazine, is cutting staff in a corporate restructuring aimed at addressing “the changing media environment.”
At the bottom of an unbylined report published by Boston Magazine Tuesday, Metro Corp. announced seven full-time positions would be eliminated company-wide.
Metro Corp. cut staffers at both Boston and Philadelphia magazines. S.I. Rosenbaum, a senior editor at Boston Magazine, said she was laid off earlier today in advance of a 3 p.m. staff meeting. An email directed to Boston Magazine Associate Digital Editor Olivia Rassow was met with an automatic reply saying she is no longer at the publication.
Rosenbaum, who joined Boston Magazine in 2013, was impressed with the magazine’s editorial direction under former editor Carly Carioli, who departed Dec. 31.
“I was really happy working with these guys,” Rosenbaum said. “It’s a great team, and I felt like we were doing a lot of great work. The company had to do what it had to do, but I’m grateful for my time there.”
Three full-time positions were eliminated from Philadelphia Magazine, according to an unbylined report from the publication.
The cuts at Boston and Philly magazines. were part of an effort to invest more resources in a new native advertising initiative called CityStudio, said Metro Corp. CEO Rick Waechter.
“I don’t want to minimize staff changes, ever,” Waechter said in an email to Poynter. “Losing even one person stinks. Today in Boston, we reduced our staff by 3 team members and that feels bad.”
As a result of today’s changes, Philadelphia Magazine editor Tom McGrath has been promoted to chief content and strategy officer for Metro Corp. He has been succeeded by Patrick Kerkstra, who was previously deputy editor at Philadelphia Magazine.
