Mashable announces layoffs in staff reorganization

Mashable, the digital news site founded by media entrepreneur Pete Cashmore in the mid-aughts, announced on Thursday it’s laying off staffers as part of a sweeping reorganization of the company and reorientation of its coverage priorities.

Two of the company’s major leaders are leaving as a result of the restructuring. Jim Roberts, the editor in chief of Mashable who joined the company in 2013 from Reuters, is exiting the company, according to the announcement. Also out is Seth Rogin, Mashable’s chief revenue officer.

Cashmore, who built Mashable into a global news organization from its roots as a UK-based outlet focused on social media and tech, announced the restructuring in a public note on LinkedIn Thursday. The exits are part of a pivot toward television, as Mashable begins experimenting with over-the-top programming in the same vein as Netflix and Hulu:

The newest platforms in our lineup include over-the-top video networks and television. To realize the massive opportunity that these platforms represent and to keep our voice consistent across every platform, it’s clear that all our video producers should live on the same team. As part of Mashable Studios, our writers, animators and video producers will now have the opportunity to work on our most important video projects — from digital shows to television to branded series.

Mashable is replacing Roberts with Greg Gittrich, who’s been given the title Chief Content Officer and a mandate to “unify our voice across all platforms and infuse data into our creative process.” Gittrich previously held that same title as digital news startup Vocativ — before that, he was vice president of news and product at NBC News Digital.

The online news organization will also step away from its news and politics coverage as part of the reorientation, Cashmore announced.

“Instead, we will focus on telling these stories from a digital angle. We’ll spend more time focusing on our core coverage – technology, web culture, science, social media, entertainment, business and lifestyle, all told through the digital lens,” he wrote.

Mashable recently established its own politics vertical, led by veteran D.C. scribe Juana Summers.

Correction: A previous version of this story said Jim Roberts joined Mashable from The New York Times. He joined Mashable from Reuters. Before that, he was a longtime editor at The New York Times.