Vanity Fair is throwing in the towel.
Today they ousted movie critic Richard Lawson and writer David Canfield. They’re dumping online rubrics The Vine and HWD. There’s some chatter that Anthony Breznican, who came from Entertainment Weekly and is highly regarded, is gone.
There will be no more movie reviews from Vanity Fair. It’s easier to puff up celebrities if you’re also not criticizing them.
The magazine says it’s going to concentrate on their Oscar party and parties at film festivals. There will be no more talk of studio heads, because that makes them unhappy. There will just be breathless valentines.
This is all from the magazine’s new 36 year old editorial director, Mark Guiducci, best friend of Anna Wintour’s daughter, Bee Shaffer. Wintour is really the presiding chief of Vanity Fair. Guiducci is caring out her wishes.
This is what it sounds like when doves cry.
How long before Melania Trump is on the cover? (Check watch.)
Here’s the memo that went to staff:
Hello everyone.
Over the past six weeks, we have talked a lot about focusing on the intersections between Vanity Fair’s core subjects — Hollywood, the arts, money, politics, and style — in modern ways, from newsletters to TikTok to new platforms that don’t yet exist.
Today, we will start working toward our new editorial strategy, gradually sunsetting our siloed vertical structure to focus on Vanity Fair as a whole. We will be moving away from news aggregation, reviews, and trade coverage. We will no longer think of something as a “Hive post” or a “HWD post.” We will treat each story as a Vanity Fair story.
This does not mean we are becoming less ambitious. The opposite is true. Transformations are not without difficulty, but I’m thrilled to say that we are hiring for a number of new positions. They include a global creative director to oversee visuals and design across all editions and platforms. They also include two senior editor positions and three new correspondents, each focusing on Hollywood, Washington, and Style, as well as producers and an entirely new social team. We will continue to add roles.
As we look ahead to the Hollywood Issue, my first, we are working on a redesign of the magazine that will influence the look of Vanity Fair on every platform, including our live events, from the Oscar Party to our presence at film festivals.
I’m also thrilled to announce that Claire Howorth will be stepping into the role of Deputy Editor, overseeing our stories everywhere that they may live. In this role, Claire will guide our day-to-day assignments, from quick turn reporting to longform narrative features to live events coverage.
I’m also happy to announce that Daniel Kile will become VP, Global Content Strategy. Video, social, operations, audience development, and events teams will report to Daniel, who will also work closely with departments across the building, from Revenue to Product and Technology. In this role, Daniel will also be collaborating with Simone Marchetti and our global HOEC as we look to grow Vanity Fair internationally.
My favorite thing about the past six weeks has been meeting each of you 1:1 and seeing firsthand the immense talent here at Vanity Fair. I also know that these weeks have been busy, often exhilarating, and I appreciate everyone who has stepped up.
