Mary Margaret Exits as Entertainment Weekly EIC, Patrick Gomez Named General Manager of Digital Publication (EXCLUSIVE)
Mary Margaret will exit her role as editor-in-chief of Entertainment Weekly, and she’ll be replaced by EW executive editor Patrick Gomez, who has been named to the position of General Manager, said a spokesperson for Dotdash Meredith. Margaret will remain on as EIC until Gomez starts his new role on June 1.
The news comes after EW published its final print issue last month, part of Dotdash Meredith’s decision to cease print editions for six of its titles, including EW and InStyle. EW will continue as a digital-only outlet.
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Gomez has overseen TV and music coverage at EW for a year, prior to working as the editor-in-chief of The AV Club and working for a decade at EW’s sister publication, People.
“Patrick is absolutely the right person at the right time to lead one of our most iconic entertainment brands,” said Leah Wyar, president of Dotdash Meredith’s Entertainment Group, in a statement to Variety. “His strong digital know-how, deep knowledge of entertainment and celebrity news, and pop culture prowess make him the perfect person to lead this next chapter of digital growth.”
Before her year-long tenure at EW, Margaret worked at the sales-software platform HubSpot as senior director of product marketing, after leading product content strategy teams for Facebook’s entertainment products and working as Roku’s editorial director. She also worked as a journalist at People, Parade and Newsweek’s London bureau.
She will relocate from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas with her family.
“I want to thank Mary Margret for leading during a pivotal time in the brand’s history and bringing more than a decade of entertainment-insider expertise, business acumen, and multimedia knowledge to continue EW’s legacy as the leading authority in entertainment,” Wyar said.
Margaret was EW’s first female EIC in its 32-year history, following former EICs including J.D. Heyman, Henry Goldblatt, Matt Bean, Jess Cagle and Rick Tetzeli. She stepped into a challenging landscape for the publication, months after Heyman left suddenly following reported complaints by staffers of a hostile workplace, and just two years after the magazine shifted to a monthly format, despite keeping its name.
EW’s parent company, Meredith, was acquired in December by Dotdash, the digital publishing arm of IAC, Barry Diller’s holding company. The all cash deal was valued at roughly $2.7 billion.
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