Source: Mark Sink / Getty
After 50 years in the media industry, Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine announced Monday that it will cease publication. Editor Ezra Marcus broke the news to CNN Money, stating that the publication is “folding both web and print effective immediately.”
According to reports, the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. A source tells WWD that Interview allegedly “owes everybody money,” including former editorial director Fabien Baron and his wife, stylist Ludivine Poiblanc, who sued the magazine over $600,000 in unpaid wages.
“Baron’s lawsuit is not the only one Interview is dealing with,” says WWD. “Former sales representative and eventually associate publisher Jane Katz last year sued the magazine for unpaid wages of more than $230,000, along with claims that she was unjustly fired. Dan Ragone, who was Interview’s president for six years, also sued in 2016 for allegedly unpaid wages of about $170,000 and that case is still working its way through the courts.”
It’s a bittersweet end to the iconic print powerhouse known for its engaging profiles and notable celebrity interviewers. Over the years, the publication has featured everyone from Erykah Badu interviewing a pre-Pulitzer Kendrick to Pharrell interviewing the Smith kids. In 2017, it received much acclaim when it put Solange in conversation with her sister, Beyoncé.
You can follow INTO Editor-in-Chief Zach Stafford’s tribute thread on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ZachStafford/status/998980964146593792
In Other Media News:
- Did she do that? Why, yes, she did. Issa Rae channels Steve Urkel and more in her GQ cover shoot.
- Boston Globe just laid off non-newsroom employees.
- A Pulitzer Prize board administrator sorta kinda not really elaborated on their Junot Díaz/#MeToo crisis.
Media Studies is CASSIUS’ weekly look at news, moves, and mess-ups in the wild world we call “The Industry.” Got a tip? Email Stephanie Long: slong(at)ionedigital(dot)com.
