On Thursday morning, Condé Nast chief executive Roger Lynch informed staff that the company would be restructuring across its portfolio—an announcement that didn’t land particularly well inside 1 World Trade Center, since such news generally signals layoffs. Among the changes outlined in Lynch’s memo, Condé Nast is shuttering SELF as a standalone digital publication, and winding down Glamour’s publishing operations in Germany, Spain, and Mexico, as well as WIRED’s operation in Italy.
While Lynch stated that the overall business is performing well, ending 2025 with revenue and profitability growth that has continued into the first quarter, he said that in order to maintain that growth, “we have to remain disciplined about where we invest our time and resources.”
The restructuring may have been planned well in advance, but it nevertheless caught many staffers inside Condé Nast by surprise, particularly the exit of Glamour Editor-In-Chief Samantha Barry, representing another high-profile departure after Will Welch stepped down as top editor at GQ earlier this year. Across the company, multiple staffers who spoke to Status said that they had not been anticipating layoffs, with one saying they were “blindsided” by the latest developments. The company’s actions also speak to its focus on marquee brands, a strategy that doesn’t bode well for the lesser titles in its vast portfolio.
Condé leadership, at Lynch’s direction, is steadily restructuring the company around a small group of dominant brands within the portfolio, including Vogue and The New Yorker, while continuing to scale back titles that have struggled to adapt to the digital era. Areas of coverage once well-suited to publications like SELF and Glamour—health, wellness, and beauty—have become saturated across the online ecosystem, where influencers are able to move faster than legacy publishers, and attract a large portion of advertising dollars. Condé’s traditional magazine infrastructure certainly hasn’t helped those brands modernize or compete in the influencer age.
Lynch’s announcement that the publications would fold also came with a fresh round of staff cuts, with 16 unionized employees laid off across multiple brands, as Status previously reported. Shortly after the restructuring was announced, Barry told staff that she would also be departing, writing in a memo, “As our business model evolved, I made clear to Anna [Wintour] and leadership that this was the right moment to leave Condé and pursue new projects.”
In his memo, Lynch said the impacted departments represent only a small portion of Condé Nast’s revenue and “remain unprofitable,” adding that continuing to operate them “limits our ability to invest in the ideas and areas that will drive future growth.”
The news didn’t come as a complete shock to some past and current employees. One former staffer said Glamour had “definitely seen the writing on the wall,” while a current staffer said the publication was internally regarded as something of an organizational “mess.” On Friday, staffers with articles and videos published by Glamour were scrambling to save their work after the announcement, according to messages in the union Slack reviewed by Status, “in case Glamour as it is now doesn’t exist anymore,” one staffer wrote.
One former staffer said the restructuring decisions, and especially Barry’s departure, underscored a broader message from leadership that they simply “don’t care about investing in ‘smaller brands.’”
A spokesperson for Condé did not respond to a request for comment, but Lynch appeared to acknowledge that mindset during an appearance at Semafor’s World Economy Summit Thursday, where he explained that Condé’s growth strategy is increasingly centered on its biggest properties, noting that the company’s seven largest brands account for 85% of the company’s global revenue. “We have 20-something brands,” Lynch told Semafor’s Ben Smith, “and I just want our teams really focused on the brands that really have a clear path to continued growth and profitability.”
The latest restructuring fits into a pattern at Condé, which has spent much of the last several years trimming around the edges of its portfolio, concentrating resources on its most commercially attractive titles like Vogue and The New Yorker. In November, Condé announced that it was folding Teen Vogue into the broader Vogue properties, with much of the editorial staff laid off, while other cuts impacted Vanity Fair, Condé Nast Traveler, and Bon Appétit.
“Condé and Roger seem to think they can cut their way to profitability, and maybe they can in the very short term, but it is not a viable long-term business strategy,” the former staffer said.
What does that mean going forward? The future is unclear, but Condé Nast’s smaller brands can hope to take Lynch at his word when he flatly responded “No” when Smith asked whether he anticipates any additional brands being shuttered this year.
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Maria Bartiromo interviews Kash Patel on "Sunday Morning Futures." (Screen grab via SnapStream/Fox Business)
Embattled FBI director Kash Patel threatened to sue The Atlantic and staff writer Sarah Fitzpatrick over an explosive piece reporting the 46-year-old has alarmed government officials with “episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.” In a statement attributed to Patel, the FBI said: “Print it, all false, I’ll see you in court—bring your checkbook.” [MS NOW]
Patel doubled down Sunday, telling Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo he is “absolutely” filing a lawsuit Monday against The Atlantic. [Bluesky]
The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg said in a statement, “We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel.”
Not to be missed: Bartiromo also pressed Patel on what he’s doing about Donald Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen. (It wasn’t.) “We are going to be making arrests,” Patel warned. “I promise you, it’s coming soon.” [Democracy Docket]
A federal judge in California dealt a major blow to local TV giant Nexstar’s $6.2 billion takeover of rival TEGNA, handing a significant victory to Democratic state attorneys general who had sued over the deal. Nexstar said it would appeal the ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. [CNN]
Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground production company will become independent when its Netflix pact expires this year, Nellie Andreeva reported, citing Barack Obama telling Jon Meacham they were “in a process now of transitioning” to let them work with various studios. [Deadline]
Tucker Carlson’s son Buckley Carlson has left his role at the White House where he served as J.D. Vance’s deputy press secretary, with Adam Wren reporting that he is starting his own political consulting firm. [POLITICO]
Connie Ballmer—the wife of L.A. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer—explained her $80 million gift to NPR, saying, “We need fact-based journalism.” [WSJ]
The NYT journalists discussed why they believe “All the President’s Men” is “one of the best movies about their profession” as the film turns 50. [NYT]
Disney’s “Avengers: Endgame” re-release will feature new footage to “create a bridge” into “Avengers: Doomsday,” co-director Joe Russo said. [Deadline]
“The Savant,” an Apple TV series delayed after Charlie Kirk’s murder, will air later this year, star Jessica Chastain told Marc Malkin. [Variety]
Eddie Murphy received the AFI Life Achievement Award on Saturday, with the presentation to stream May 31 on Netflix. [THR]
Ella Langley posted her first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with “Dandelion,” while Justin Bieber vaulted into the top 10. [Billboard]
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie." (Photo by Nintendo and Illumination/Universal Pictures)
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” notched its third weekend atop the domestic chart, adding another $35 million in receipts for a total haul of $355 million and nearly $750 million worldwide.
“Mario’s” No. 1 run should end when “Michael” moonwalks into theaters this weekend.
“Project Hail Mary” remains the year’s overachiever, falling a stellar 15% in North America from the previous week to score another $20 million, for a $285 million total for the Amazon MGM release.
“Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” didn’t breathe much life into its twist on old horror, with a $13 million opener.
“Lorne,” a new documentary about “SNL’s” Lorne Michaels, earned just $270,000 on roughly 400 screens.
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