SpinMedia Staffs Up Despite Possible Sale

SpinMedia has hired a new editor-in-chief, associate editor and senior writer amid reports the company may be up for sale.

SpinMedia has hired Puja Patel as editor-in-chief of its flagship music brand, Spin. Patel previously worked for Spin as an associate editor in 2014. She was most recently senior editor at Deadspin and led the “Adequate Man” vertical.

Patel has started building her team and hired Pitchfork's Jeremy Gordon as associate editor and former Gawker writer Andrew Cush as senior writer.

Worthy of note: Patel and Cush are coming from sites owned by Gawker Media, which was embroiled in controversy and a lawsuit before being sold to Univision in August for $130 million.

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According to a spokesperson, the hires are part of SpinMedia’s strategy to expand the brand’s culture coverage, in an effort to tap into Spin’s earlier days when the magazine covered topics like the AIDS crisis and the war in Sarajevo.

In an email, SpinMedia CEO Stephen Blackwell praised Patel’s “strong opinions about what our audience wants to read, watch and share—and has the unique ability to execute on it.”

When asked about the potential sale, the spokesperson told Publishers Daily that SpinMedia “retains financial advisers to consult on divestitures, acquisitions and strategic partnerships.”

As previously reported, SpinMedia and its pop culture sites are reportedly up for sale after losing an estimated $5 million a year. SpinMedia’s number of unique visitors was down to 25 million in July, per comScore.

SpinMedia's music properties also include Vibe, Stereogum, Idolator, Buzznet, PureVolume and Death and Taxes.
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