Vogue guts Teen Vogue Politics team

Update, Nov. 6, 2:53 p.m.:

Condé Nast fired four Condé union officers who confronted leadership seeking answers about the Teen Vogue merger and WIRED layoffs late on Nov. 5, the union said in a statement Nov. 6.

Bon Appétit writer and digital producer Alma Avalle, Condé Nast Entertainment videographer Ben Dewey, WIRED senior politics reporter Jake Lahut, and New Yorker fact-checker Jasper Lo were among the 20 editorial employees who questioned Stan Duncan, the company’s head of human resources. Avalle is the vice president of the NewsGuild of New York and said, to her knowledge, the only trans woman in the union and, after the Teen Vogue layoffs, the only trans person on editorial besides Them’s staff.

On behalf of Condé United, the NewsGuild of New York has filed a grievance against Condé Nast alleging violation of the just cause terms in their contract, calling the company’s actions “an unprecedented violation of their [the workers] federally protected rights as union members to participate in a collective action.” Semafor reported that Condé Nast also filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board against the NewsGuild of New York, the parent union of Condé United, citing the organization’s “repeated and egregious disregard of our collective bargaining agreement.”

The union and company reached their first collective bargaining agreement last year, averting a planned work stoppage at the Met Gala.

“Management’s attempt at union-busting, using intimidation and grossly illegal tactics to try to suppress protected union activity, will not stand,” Susan DeCarava, president of the NewsGuild of New York, said in a statement.

The GoFundMe for laid-off Teen Vogue staffers has exceeded its updated goal of $35,000.

Update, Nov. 4, 4:06 p.m.:

Laid-off staffers from Teen Vogue have opened a GoFundMe to help fund their immediate needs. Currently, the campaign is at around 80% of its $20,000 goal.

Original story:

Just two years ago, on its 20th anniversary, Poynter reported that Teen Vogue’s political reporting and its portrayal of “younger generations as a legitimate news audience” had been vindicated as newsrooms scrambled to capture younger audiences. Now, the very section that made Teen Vogue stand out amid the country’s major news sources for taking youth seriously and for its progressive coverage is gone.

Vogue.com announced its merger with Teen Vogue on Nov. 3, eliminating the youth-focused publication’s politics section, leaving just one woman of color on Teen Vogue’s editorial staff, and marking the fourth set of Condé Nast layoffs in less than a year. 

Teen Vogue now has no writers or editors explicitly covering politics, according to its representative union, Condé United, and The NewsGuild of New York. Former Teen Vogue style editor Aiyana Ishmael said no Black women remain on Teen Vogue’s staff. 

Layoffs at Condé Nast publications happened on Dec. 2024, March 2025, and May 2025 as Condé urged its workers back to office and continued to fold brands into each other. Just as Pitchfork being incorporated into GQ saw Pitchfork editor-in-chief Puja Patel let go, the consolidation of Teen Vogue into Vogue.com sees the departure of the publication’s editor-in-chief Versha Sharma, another South Asian editor. Chloe Malle, who heads Vogue’s editorial department, will now oversee Teen Vogue.  

Layoffs disproportionately impacting journalists of color is in line with growing pushback against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across journalism at large, including the decline in editors of color at U.S. publications over the past two years. Teen Vogue’s political coverage, including critical reporting on the impacts of the Trump administration, comes at a time when the presidential administration seeks to crack down on any criticism from news outlets.

In a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter and The Objective, Condé United and The NewsGuild of New York said the merger, which impacts six journalists — most of whom are BIPOC women or trans — was “clearly designed to blunt the award-winning magazine’s insightful journalism at a time when it is needed the most.” 

Teen Vogue began as a fashion- and beauty-centric magazine and sister publication to Vogue when founded in 2003, and strived to be apolitical. But it was under women of color — former editors-in-chief Elaine Welteroth and Sharma — that Teen Vogue shook off that mantle, focusing on political reporting covering on movements’ impact on youth. Recent stories in the publication’s now-depreciated politics section range from coverage of climate change, education and labor, immigration, and the rise of transphobia and anti-trans legislation to ongoing genocide in Gaza, the traction of Zohran Mamdani’s progressive campaign for New York City mayor, and the Trump administration’s impact on marginalized youth.

“This was clearly an attempt to silence the best political coverage in corporate media,” Christopher Shay, deputy editor for The Nation, said on X. 

The Vogue business team says Vogue will “focus its content on career development, cultural leadership and other issues that matter most to young people, according to the publication.” The Objective has reached out to Condé Nast communications for more clarity.

“Readers will get a more seamless experience,” the team wrote about the move, and according to the publisher, the merge will provide “full resources and increased scale across all titles will also mean more visibility for advertisers and partners.” 

Among those partners is OpenAI, whose tools Condé Nast has been sharing its publications’ stories with since August 2024. 

Other outlets across journalism have also seen layoffs as they seek to consolidate and downsize. In late October, NBC and CBS both laid off reporters dedicated to covering marginalized communities. CBS let go of nearly 100 staffers, with The Guardian U.S.’s media reporter Jeremy Barr reporting that the Race and Culture unit was “gutted.” NBC shed 7% of its newsroom and dissolved its editorial teams covering Black, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander and LGBTQ+ communities.

Coalitions are forming to push back against these layoffs. 

Journalism affinity groups representing the communities whose verticals were cut from NBC News co-published a statement on Oct. 23, urging the broadcaster “to recommit to representative newsrooms that reflect the diversity of every community.” Meanwhile, Condé United and The NewsGuild of New York say they will continue to push for the answers and Teen Vogue readership they are owed from Condé leadership. 

“We fight for our rights as workers with a collective bargaining agreement as we fight for the work we do, and the people we do it for,” their joint statement read. 

This is a developing story and will continue to be updated.

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James Salanga is the co-director of The Objective.

This piece was edited by Gabe Schneider. Copy edits by Jen Ramos Eisen.