I just got this from Shiny Media. Of the three main founders only one now remains, Chris Price. Katie Lee leaves today, as do staff on several of their blog titles. I’m trying to confirm numbers and which titles will suffer. Meanwhile former co-founder Ashley Norris left last year, leaving behind a hotly debated parting shot about why the company did not mirror the success of other US-based blog startups. Shiny responded at length.
Update: Two editorial jobs being made redundant – the editorial assistants on Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny. Other redundancies are around management (most notably Lee) and production. I gather this amounts to four people in total. So affected titles are: My Chemical Toilet, Shiny Shiny, Tech Digest, and marketing. Staffing levels on the fashion and lifestyle sites – Shiny’s core offering – remain unchanged.
Moving Shiny forward
You don’t need me to tell you that that we are in the midst of some very tough times and sadly they affect new media networks like Shiny too.
We have held on as long as we could without restructuring the business but we now have to make those changes to secure the long-term stability of Shiny.
It is with huge regret that we are having to part company with several members of our team. They are very talented and extremely likable individuals, however ultimately in the current climate we are faced with no choice but to let them go.
We also announce today the departure of our editorial director and co-founder Katie Lee from Shiny. Katie played a massive role in developing Shiny and in particular several of its hero blogs. She has now decided that the time is right to leave the business. She does however remain a significant shareholder in Shiny and we are very grateful for all she has done over the years.
Shiny is a British new media success story. We have built a stable of great media brands that between them attract over three million readers each month. Times maybe tough now, but we are confident that this move, though painful in the short term, will leave us well placed to thrive and prosper in the future.
Shaftesbury Ave
London
www.shinymedia.com