Since GOOD magazine laid off most of its editorial staff on Friday, I’ve called and emailed its owners multiple times requesting comment on what exactly their strategy is for the company; I received no response until late Monday.
In an email, cofounder Casey Caplowe told me, “The people we let go last week are smart, talented people. We appreciate all they’ve done for GOOD and know they will succeed in doing great things in the future. It was a difficult decision and we did our best to convey it with sincere respect.” The email continues:
I know a fair deal has been made of doing this the day after the magazine launch party—the truth is we wanted to do our best to respect the awesome work this team had done to bring that latest issue into being—and quite frankly, there’s never a good time to do these things.
Tough decisions are made for a reason though, and I have never been more confident about our future – the people who work here, the community we’ve built, and new tools and offerings we have in the pipeline. Unfortunately, i’m not prepared to get into real specifics on this just yet. I can say that we are aiming toward a relaunch of the site later this summer. Our mission is to maximize good in the world, and to that end, we are evolving our platform in a way that will allow the whole GOOD community to engage more deeply—to learn and do things that make ourselves and our world better. Great content by talented contributors will remain a cornerstone of GOOD.
In a blog post on GOOD’s site, Caplowe said:
GOOD has always been a work in progress, and even as creating and spreading awesome content by amazing people will continue to be a critical part of what we do, this was a step we felt was important to take as we pursue a refined strategy to inform, connect, and empower the community of people who give a damn.
Laid off on Friday were Executive Editor Ann Friedman, who held the position for a little more than a year, Managing Editor Megan Greenwell, Senior Editor Cord Jefferson, Lifestyle Editor Amanda Hess, business editor Tim Fernholz and Associate Editor Nona Willis Aronowitz. Wylie Overstreet left voluntarily. || Related: GOOD posts thank-you video featuring laid-off staffers (Poynter)
