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Vox Media is acquiring New York Media, which publishes New York magazine and its allied digital platforms, to form what they say will be “the leading independent modern media company.”
Vox Media chairman and CEO Jim Bankoff will lead the combined company, while current New York Media CEO Pamela Wasserstein will take the role of president, Vox Media, overseeing the existing New York Media brands as well as strategic initiatives that will include the company’s commerce and consumer businesses.
Current New York Media editor-in-chief David Haskell will continue to lead the New York Media brands, which include websites The Cut, The Strategist, Grub Street, Intelligencer and Vulture in addition to the magazine. Vox Media publisher Melissa Bell will remain in charge of the Vox Media brands, which include Eater, Recode, The Verge and Vox. “Nothing changes editorially for any of our brands,” Bankoff said.
According to the New York Times, Bankoff has said that the merger will not be accompanied by editorial layoffs or the closure of any existing brands.
In a note from Bankoff and Wasserman on nymag.com, they say that the changes resulting from the merger will mainly affect the business operations of the two partners. “For marketers,” they write, “the merger will create a new category of media company with advertising capabilities and offerings that are deeper, broader and smarter than anything else out there.”
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