Over a year after the ouster of the outlet’s top editor amid misconduct accusations, negativity remains
Entertainment Weekly, which fired its top editor a year ago amid complaints about his racist and sexist comments, is reeling from a new set of staff complaints, this time about a lack of editorial leadership and — as a bombshell email sent to top editors alleged — declining standards that the author claims have “made a joke”The publication.
Signed by “the elephant in the room,”This internal email was sent to editors at the top in January and was obtained by said the “writing at EW has gone downhill.” “Yes, page hits are important,”The email was sent to Mary Margaret, editor-in-chief of the outlet. It also included a newsletter and a website. “But people are eventually going to tune out if articles are poorly written. The out of context clickbait titles, posting out of context quotes… and film reviews that sound like paid-for PR pieces from studios completely make a joke of our magazine and entertainment journalism.”
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A representative for Dotdash Meredith, EW’s new owner, declined to comment on the letter but acknowledged it was sent. The email was confirmed to have been received by at least nine of the top staffers. A source insider said that the email was created by a current staff member who refused to identify himself for fear of retaliation.
Brittany Kaplan, EW’s special project editor, sued Dotdash Meredith and the outlet, claiming they were retaliating after she complained of hostile working conditions. Kaplan claimed that Heyman made jokes about the Holocaust, eating disorders, and was racist at work. The suit claims that Heyman’s accusations were hidden by the magazine. Kaplan claimed that she “made various internal complaints” about Heyman’s behavior. Kaplan states that Heyman’s behavior was never investigated. “was sidelined and stripped of virtually all of her responsibilities,”And “was denied a promised title promotion and pay increase.”
Heyman was fired in December 2020 after multiple senior staffers filed complaints with Meredith’s human resources department accusing him of creating a hostile workplace by belittling staffersAnd making “inappropriate” and “racially insensitive”Commentaries, as reported exclusively
Despite the fact that staff members have been working remotely for most of the last two decades, problems persist since his departure. Two other EW insiders have expressed concerns about Margaret’s leadership. Margaret is a former Roku and Facebook gaming exec. She was appointed editor-in-chief in March.
One insider told that reporters do not trust editors to properly vet their stories and have created their own working groups to edit each other’s work.
The anonymous email writer sent a follow up email to and compared the employment situation at EW to “working in an out-of-control classroom.” “There have been at least five instances where one male writer is openly making out with another”The staffer stated that they were available during office hours. “There are NO consequences for bad behavior, and there is NO leader to keep everything in order.”
A rep for Dotdash Meredith had no comment about the accusations about the outlet’s management.
In the email, one staff member was accused of accepting. “special gifts”For “access” to A-listers and for writing uncritical stories — though the accuser has provided no evidence to back up that claim. In the email, others were accused of being uncritical. “junior high level of fanboy journalism.”
The email writer insists on anonymity and says that there is still a need for it. “hostile environment,”Without providing any specifics to verify. “Entertainment Weekly used to be THE premiere source for entertainment news and reviews. It’s true that the move from print to digital has caused every outlet to change, but some outlets, such as Variety and THR, have adapted without coming across as low-level content farms,””Said the missive. “Wehaveto do better in 2022. We can do better! We can start by being open with each other while also using criticism to improve ourselves rather than shooting the messenger. We can work as a team rather than as individuals who feel too competitive to help other staff members. Let’s hope this letter leads to improvements before it’s too late.”
Sharon Waxman contributed to the story.
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