The Hollywood Reporter Courts Ex-People Editor Jess Cagle to Replace Matt Belloni (Exclusive)
The Hollywood Reporter’s parent company Valence Media has been courting Jess Cagle, the former editor in chief of People and Entertainment Weekly who currently serves as SiriusXM’s chief entertainment anchor, to replace Matt Belloni as THR’s top editor, an insider told TheWrap.
*Update:* Reached by TheWrap, Cagle said he has “not spoken to anyone there” and is “very happy” at SiriusXM. A spokesperson for Valence Media had no comment for this story.
But according to an individual with knowledge of the conversations, Cagle is “being discussed” among top Valence executives including co-CEOs Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk in the hopes that he will take over the Hollywood trade. The individual also said that discussions have taken place with Cagle. But the job may not be easy to fill given all the bad press generated in the wake of Belloni’s abrupt ouster last week and massive staff cuts this week to THR and sister publications Billboard and Vibe.
The atmosphere at Valence was described by this individual as “meltdown mode” as the CEOs deal with the aftermath of dismissing 100 staffers this week, including Publisher Lynne Segall, chief film critic Todd McCarthy and a dozen senior writers and editors.
*Also Read:* 'Bloodbath': The Hollywood Reporter Ends a 10-Year, Heady Run at Reinvention
As TheWrap reported, Belloni was abruptly ousted from THR’s tob job last week after clashing with Valence’s chief executives over the publication’s editorial independence. In a memo to staff announcing his exit, Belloni did not explicitly state the reason for his departure but said “well-meaning, diligent, ambitious people can disagree about fundamental priorities and strategies.” In the interim, deputy editorial director Jeanie Pyun, deputy editorial director for digital media Tom Seeley and executive editor for TV Lacey Rose have been tasked to step in as interim chiefs.
Cagle is a veteran entertainment journalist who helped launch Entertainment Weekly in 1990 and served as the editor in chief of People magazine from 2014-2019. In the fall of 2019, he joined SiriusXM as its chief entertainment anchor and co-hosts a daily pop culture and celebrity interview show from Los Angeles.
*Also Read:* Hollywood Reporter, Billboard Set for Deep Staffing Cuts by Owner Valence Media (Exclusive)
On Tuesday and Wednesday, close to 20 senior staffers were laid off from THR, among them senior film editor Piya Sinha-Roy, senior editor Benjamin Svetkey, real estate and city editor Peter Kiefer, senior events editor Ramona Saviss and senior reporter Rebecca Sun.
THR has been losing millions of dollars every year for many years, and the cuts are aimed at bringing the publication closer to break even. As TheWrap previously reported, THR and Billboard are currently losing nearly $20 million per year. The staff reductions were aimed at saving about $10 million per year.
In a Tuesday memo to staff obtained by CNN Business, Wiczyk and Satchu attributed the layoffs to the pandemic and company-wide restructuring that were “planned for 2020-2021.”
*Also Read:* The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard and Vibe Hit With Layoffs by Owner Valence Media
“Each of our divisions was affected differently, dependent on the specifics of the business. The greatest impact was on our Media division, which underwent layoffs and a restructuring, part of which was a response to advertising market conditions and part of which was an acceleration of actions that were planned for 2020-2021,” the memo said. “Though these are uncertain times, we made these decisions assuming that our society will emerge from lockdown over the course of the summer and early fall, and that there will be a fairly serious global recession for at least one year. We do not anticipate any more COVID-19 related actions unless conditions fall below that threshold.”
Wiczyk and Satchu also announced they would be foregoing their salaries and instituting pay cuts for employees making more than $100,000. An unnamed source who spoke with CNN Business said that the pay cuts would be in the 15-25% range.
*Related stories from TheWrap:*
The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard and Vibe Hit With Layoffs by Owner Valence Media
Hollywood Reporter Editor Matt Belloni Steps Down Amid Debate Over Editorial Independence
Read Matt Belloni's Exit Memo to Staff: 'Ambitious People Can Disagree'
'Bloodbath': The Hollywood Reporter Ends a 10-Year, Heady Run at Reinvention