Media Carousel: Group Nine’s New Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Head and More

Here, WWD rounds up some notable moves of late.

Starting with some brand new news, Group Nine Media, whose brands include NowThis, The Dodo, Thrillist and PopSugar, has named Fanta Camara head of diversity, equity and inclusion. She was most recently human resources business partner for Group Nine’s mobile news publisher NowThis. Prior to Group Nine, Camara was a senior human resources generalist at Snap Inc. She also held multiple human resources positions at The Estée Lauder Cos. Inc.

In this new role for Group Nine, Camara will design and lead a DE&I strategy and has been charged with advancing the company’s diversity goals, which include 50 percent diversity among candidates for new positions starting immediately, 40 percent overall diversity as a company in 2022, and 50 percent diversity in 2024.

Group Nine chief executive officer Ben Lerer said: “It became increasingly clear that the most uniquely qualified candidate for this critical role was Fanta, whose influence has been immensely felt over the past six months as we’ve taken a deeper look inward at who we are as an organization. Fanta is an empathetic and trusted leader who will play an invaluable role as we work to make this the best workplace possible and become a leader in this space.”

Camara added: “I am thrilled to bring my own personal and professional experience to further cement the company’s foundation as a safe place that is equitable, diverse and inclusive for every employee. We have ambitious goals and I am ready to tackle this crucial endeavor.”

Last month NowThis staffers unionized with the Writers Guild of America, East and the lack of diversity at the company was among their top concerns. Organizers stated that “our workforce and leadership should reflect the company’s commitment to racial equity, rather than claiming diversity through limited representation of Black and brown employees in the company.”

Elsewhere, The New York Times revealed that Jane Coaston will host opinion podcast “The Argument” beginning early next year. She’ll be joined by a rotating cast of guests and debaters from within and outside of Opinion, according to The Times. Coaston joins from Vox, where she has been a senior politics reporter focusing on conservatism, the American right, the GOP and white nationalism.

Lingerie start-up Cuup has hired former Vogue.com senior fashion writer Marjon Carlos to lead the brand’s online editorial content, focusing on its editorial strategy and content for the “BodyTalk” vertical, Cuup’s weekly blog.

Samira Nasr, editor in chief of Harper’s Bazaar, has tapped Dev Hynes, also known as Blood Orange, as the publication’s first music director. Each month, a different music director and soundtrack will be introduced that will speak to the theme and mood of the issue via “Harper’s Bazaar: The Playlist” on Apple Music.

ABC News said Galen Gordon will join the division at the end of the month as senior vice president for talent and development, identifying “emerging talent and development opportunities for our on-air and editorial team and the next generation of talent.” He’ll take over some of the duties of Barbara Fedida, who exited the company over the summer after an investigation found that she had made racially insensitive remarks to colleagues. A former ESPN coordinating producer and WABC producer, Galen is returning to the company after nearly three years as vice president for the National Football League Media Group.

Glenn Greenwald departed news site The Intercept, which he cofounded in 2013, following claims that editors censored his article that he wrote about President-elect Joe Biden.

Disney-owned ESPN said this week it has laid off 300 staffers amid the pandemic. Explaining the decision, Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN and Sports Content said: “For some time, ESPN has been engaged in planning for its future amidst tremendous disruption in how fans consume sports. The pandemic’s affect on ESPN clearly accelerated our thinking on all fronts. Today, as a result of these circumstances, we informed our employees that we have made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce to create a more agile, efficient organization.”

McClatchy, the publisher of The Miami Herald, Charlotte Observer and many more, made more layoffs in its advertising division, but it did not disclose specific numbers.

There were also huge layoffs at the Philadelphia Inquirer, which has made the decision to shutter its printing plant, resulting in the loss of 528 jobs.

For more, see:

Lingerie Start-up Cuup Taps Vogue Writer Marjon Carlos

Media Carousel: Modern Luxury’s New Digital Content Head and More

The New York Times Co. Surpasses 7 Million Subscribers

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