Why Hearst Laid Off 'Cosmo' and 'Elle' Web Editors

Hearst, we learned Tuesday, laid off two highly placed web editors at its magazines: Abby Gardner, the digital director of Cosmopolitan, and Amina Akhtar, the editor of Elle.com. Both layoffs came as a surprise to industry observers and to the individuals themselves.

Then, that afternoon, the publisher announced three new hires, two of whom would be replacing in mid-September the editors who were just let go.

The timing was odd: Why fire two top editors just two weeks before New York Fashion Week, one of the most demanding coverage periods of the year? What were the existing editors both failing to deliver on? And, how does this affect the publications' digital strategies? Read more...