Splinter Parent Company Warned Its Reporters Not to Write About Site’s Closure, Per Leaked Email
G/O Media website
Splinter’s parent company G/O Media warned editors and reporters at its other properties not to write about the site’s closure on Thursday, per a new report.
In an email obtained by HuffPost, G/O Media Editorial Director Paul Maidment declared, “I see no compelling reason for any of our sites to be writing about the decision to cease publishing Splinter.”
“There is already external coverage, LeadPR will handle our external communications, and this is a time to be respectful of colleagues who have just received difficult news and for whom we will be trying to find new positions,” Maidment continued. “Any reference to Splinter in anything we publish needs my prior approval, as per our editorial policy. Please make sure all your staff are aware of that. You will be accountable if anything not approved by me gets published.”
G/O Media’s other properties include Gizmodo, Kotaku, the A.V. Club, Jezebel, Deadspin, the Root, Lifehacker, the Takeout, the Inventory, and satirical websites the Onion and Clickhole.
Splinter Editor-In-Chief Aleksander Chan announced the website’s closure on Thursday in a Twitter statement.
“As of today, Splinter will cease publication. It has been my greatest honor to have been the editor of this site and I will love this staff to my dying breath,” he declared. “Thank you to all of our readers, fans, and haters—it’s been a thrill. Further details TK. Splinter forever.”
In an internal memo, Maidment blamed “a fiercely competitive sector” for Splinter’s demise.
