Top staffers are being subjected to layoffs as Valance Media is cutting jobs across just about all its major properties including The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Media Rights Capital, and more. With little to no warning, many of the staffers were given the boot and unsure of what to do.
A Deadline piece penned by THR’s former chief film critic, Todd McCarthy, described how it was a shock, especially since about a month ago he was given a surprise raise. But, as of recently, he was given the boot by people he never even met. That said, it wasn’t gloomy, rather he ended his piece with something he told The New York Times when he was let go from Variety.
“It’s the end of something.”
Was McCarthy the only one?
It wasn’t just McCarthy who’s been canned, though. Chief among him, include the likes of THR newcomers Rebecca Sun and Piya Sinha-Roy who joined back in September as a senior reporter and senior film editor respectively. The likes of Peter Kiefer, Ramona Saviss, Michelle Mondragon, Maya Eslam, and a laundry list of other staffers were also given the boot Wednesday.
Per Deadline, only the core staff of The Hollywood Reporter are deemed safe, but they weren’t in a good financial place to begin with, even without COVID-19 seeping its way into Hollywood and causing massive shutdowns. The days of this publication are shakey, but it’s unclear how it will go forward once the virus does subside to a maintainable level and its popular content can continue on a mostly consistent basis.
