Top Vice editors exit amid ongoing shakeup: report

Vice Media has let go of two of its website’s top editors amid a leadership shakeup at the company. 

Vice.com Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Smith and managing editor Rachel Schallom have exited the company, The New York Times reported Tuesday, citing an email it obtained. 

A source familiar with the staff moves confirmed the two departures to The Hill.

{mosads}“In making changes to the organizational structure of the digital editorial group, we had to make difficult decisions that mean Jonathan Smith and Rachel Schallom are no longer with the company,” senior digital vice president Katie Drummond reportedly wrote in the email. 

The company, however, also announced hires and expansions of other leadership roles. Erika Allen, who was most recently working for New York Magazine’s The Cut, will serve as Executive Managing Editor, according to a statement. Derek Mead will expand his role as Executive Editor and Vice.com International Editor Meredith Balkus will become Associate Managing Editor.  

The media company announced a total of seven new hires this week at Vicenews.com 

It has also listed a series of other editorial openings.  

The Times reported that Smith had been at Vice for 10 years and was its editor-in-chief for three. Schallom had held her position for less than a year, the paper reported. 

Earlier this year, Vice laid off 10 percent of its staff. CEO Nancy Dubuc said then in an internal memo obtained by The Hollywood Reporter that each department would be affected by the layoffs. 

“Having finalized the 2019 budget, our focus shifts to executing our goals and hitting our marks,” she wrote at the time. “We will make Vice the best manifestation of itself and cement its place long into the future.”

The Times reported Tuesday that Vice has recently been focusing on its video content.

— Updated at 5:50 p.m.