UPDATE: Matt Taibbi will leave Rolling Stone to join Glenn Greenwald and Jeremy Cahill at First Look Media, the Wrap reports. “It’s obvious that we’re entering a new phase in the history of journalism,” said Taibbi of his departure. “This is clearly the future, and this was an opportunity for me to be part of helping to found something and create something that might carry us into the next generation.”
In a post on his TaibbiBlog on RollingStone.com, Taibbi wrote, “I’ll have plenty of time to talk about the new job elsewhere. But in this space, I just want to talk about Rolling Stone, and express my thanks. Today is a very bittersweet day for me.”
“No journalist has ever been luckier than me,” he added. “Thank you, ‘Rolling Stone’.”
RollingStone.com has recently undergone some staff changes. According to sources, associate editors Mike Ayers and Blaine McEvoy and director of industry relations Mike Spinella are no longer with the publication as of last Friday, Feb. 14.
The departures follow a somewhat tumultuous 2013 for Rolling Stone. Towards the beginning of the year the magazine laid off longtime executive director Eric Bates and Mark Neschis, who handled press for Wenner Media. Toward the end of last year, Rolling Stone brought on Caryn Ganz, former editor-in-chief of Spin, as the editorial director of RollingStone.com, as well as former Spin.com senior editors Chris Weingarten and David Marchese. Last year also saw the appointment of Gus Wenner, founder Jann Wenner’s son, as director of RollingStone.com.
When contacted by Billboard, Rolling Stone declined to comment for this article.