Fired Good staffers vow to start new magazine

The eight editors and designer who lost their jobs last week at Good magazine (or opted out) posted a message in which they admit to being scared about the lack of income, and their regret that some of them may have to move out of Los Angeles. But they also wish Good well in its new direction, and say they intend to work together as a team one more time on a magazine concept they are calling Tomorrow.

It’s going to be about what’s next, what’s on the cusp. We want to get out of our comfort zone and push others to do the same. We want to meet and introduce you to great people. We’ll have more details soon, so check back here later this week.

For now, we want to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who’s emailed and called and tweeted at us with kind words. Extra thanks to people who have hooked us up with professional connections or freelance work, and those who have left bottles of scotch on our front porches or taken us out to dinner. Even though the past week has been tough, there have been countless moments that have made us stop and ask, “What is best in life?” And for that we’re extremely grateful.

Fired editor in chief Ann Friedman posts separately about her time at Good, the magazine and her colleagues. Excerpt:

Although GOOD is no longer interested in defining itself as a destination for high-quality editorial content, there are a lot of lessons that journalists and media companies could—and should—learn from GOOD.

I’m excited to take those lessons and apply them to my next professional challenge. Not sure what that is just yet. I’m going to take a few weeks to chill the fuck out and think about it. I’ve always had more ideas than time to follow through on them, so this is a really exciting moment for me.

If there’s one thing I’m disappointed about, it’s that this hardworking and accomplished group of writers and editors never got to realize its full potential. A magazine (which is how we and many others have always thought of GOOD, in both its print and web iterations) is the community of people who make it, read it, see themselves reflected in it. And it’s hard to really express what a privilege it’s been to make a magazine with a group of people who aren’t just phenomenal readers, writers, editors, contributors, and designers but truly top-notch humans.

Finally, Good founder Ben Goldhirsh spoke about the mass firing of his editorial staff in a company wide "hey guys" memo on Monday, via The Atlantic Wire. Sample:

Layoffs are a really tough call to make. And frankly, it's easier to make them when financial pressure is the catalyst. But that wasn't the case here. This was about the direction of the business and the path to manifesting the very exciting potential ahead. Furthermore, this was a decision that was discussed at length, and included the opinions of every team at the company. At the end of the day, the path forward requires some new roles and perspectives, and this meant that some roles got eliminated. While that's hard. It's also right. Right for our business, and frankly right for the folks who are great at those roles, and who deserve to be at a place where those roles are fundamental to strategy....

I'm really proud that we made the tough decision here, have put the turmoil behind us, and I'm so stoked about all that lies ahead.

Hat tip on this story to LA Weekly.

Photo: Ann Friedman's blog