Vanity Fair heads in new direction after low morale, layoffs

While Vogue searches for a new editorial boss, there are changes at Condé Nast publication Vanity Fair.

The storied mag was rocked by another round of layoffs Tuesday, we hear, with longtime staffers Richard Lawson, David Canfield, Anthony Breznican and Michael Calderone all out.

The shake-up comes as former Vogue staffer and newly minted VF global editorial director Mark Guiducci, who took over on June 30, lays out his vision for the glossy’s future.

The move comes after a round of layoffs in 2024, and insiders whisper this isn’t just your average editorial shuffle with several staffers jumping ship.

“It was a perfect storm over the last year in the sense it was f–ked up and imperfect,” says one well-spoken source, adding, “it’s been a slow drip,” with many staffers leaving even before Guiducci took over for Radhika Jones.

Jones announced her departure last April after seven years in VF’s top spot.

“It affected staff morale and output,” the insider said of last year’s layoffs. “You had people feeling stretched thin. People left… and old jobs haven’t been filled.”

A source tells us that now, “Conde Nast has lost some of its shine.” The insider added, “it’s not specific to Vanity Fair, it’s the state of media right now. People have done a lot and are finding their limits. It’s a real burnout.”

The change at the top of the VF masthead was just the extra push some people needed to jump ship, we hear.

“Mark has a different sensibility than Radhika who had relationships with staffers,” says one source. “Mark is new and looking to make an impact and expecting a lot from people.”

Another tells us, “Morale is low. It partially has to do with a new editor, people feel like its a natural end point, a new regime. He is different and has different expectations.”

Another source told us that there is concern about Giuducci himself being stretched thin.

“Mark is still doing stuff for Vogue, which undermines the VF job,” said a source.

However, another tells us he is merely advising on the brand’s “Vogue World: Hollywood” event set to take place in October, insisting VF is his main focus.

Following the latest layoffs, Guiducci sent a sweeping staff memo announcing a pivot that will nix VF verticals like the Hive, which covered politics, business and tech.

According to a memo seen by Page Six, the new editorial boss says that VF will focus on, “Hollywood, the arts, money, politics, and style — in modern ways, from newsletters to TikTok to new platforms that don’t yet exist.”

He added that the mag will move away from “news aggregation, reviews, and trade coverage. We will no longer think of something as a ‘Hive post’ or a ‘HWD post.’ We will treat each story as a Vanity Fair story,” the memo stated.

Executive editor Claire Howorth will step into the role of Deputy Editor, and Daniel Kile, who previously held that title, will take the position of VP, Global Content Strategy.

Guiducci also plans to hire a “global creative director to oversee visuals and design across all editions and platforms,” two senior editor positions, and “three new correspondents, each focusing on Hollywood, Washington, and Style, as well as producers and an entirely new social team. We will continue to add roles,” the memo said.

Anna Wintour is said to have championed Giuducci, who happens to be close pals with her daughter Bee Shaffer.

A source told Page Six in June that Wintour made the pick against Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch’s wishes as staffers were chattering Giuducci was a “nepo” hire.

“Anna steamrolled him. He wasn’t in the meeting when she announced [Mark] as the new editor,” a source told Page Six, adding of the choice, “Everyone was sad. It looked like a funeral.”

Another insider scoffed at the notion that Wintour had the power to pull one over on Lynch. “He runs the company. That’s just a fact. He was obviously a part of the process, and he and Anna were very much aligned,” the second source said.

A spokesperson told us at the time, “Roger’s thrilled about Mark’s appointment and is excited for him to run the title.”

Wintour described Giuducci as “an energetic and creative editor at the center of his generation and a leader under whom Vanity Fair will grow in ways I can foresee and, no doubt, many ways I can’t.”