Billboard Lays Off Staff Following Cuts at Variety and Rolling Stone

Penske Media Corporation (PMC), the company that owns notable publications such as Deadline Hollywood and The Hollywood Reporter, has laid off staff at Billboard. PMC also made cuts to Variety and Rolling Stone this month.

The details:

• At Billboard, Editors at Large Robert Levine and Steve Knopper, Senior Director of Live Music and Touring Dave Brooks, Executive Editor Frank DiGiacomo, and Lead Analyst Glenn Peoples were all let go.

• At Rolling Stone, writers Andre Gee and Brittany Spanos were laid off in the recent round. Executive Digital Director Lisa Tozzi and Chief Television Critic Alan Sepinwall were let go back in September.

• At Variety, Senior Entertainment Writer Adam B. Vary and Associate News Editor J. Kim Murphy were pink-slipped as well.

What they said:

• PMC declined to comment on the layoffs.

• Vary via Bluesky: “The great axe of modern journalism has come for me: Today was my last day at Variety. Not my choice at all, and I will miss my tremendous colleagues — and friends! — there enormously.”

• Spanos via X: “After 11 years i was laid off from rolling stone! Kind of surreal feeling to start over but excited to see what’s next.”