G/O Communications scrapped another property on Thursday, telling employees in a companywide memo that it was selling the satirical store onion.
“We are conducting a thorough review of our portfolio with the aim of focusing on the top sites in terms of audience and revenue,” CEO Jim Spanfeller wrote to employees in a memo remember that The Daily Beast has. “Today, we announced a major traffic increase for Quartz but at the same time, as part of our efforts to sharpen our focus, we also announced that G/O Media has sold The Onion for a new company based in Chicago called Global Tetrahedron.”
New York Times first reported news of the purchase. Everyday monsters reported last month that G/O Media was actively looking for a buyer.
The new owner, shares the same name as a company featured in a 1999 satirical book written by the former owner. Onion editors, including four people with “a deep love for onion and comedy-based content,” Spanfeller wrote. He said the buyers had experience with digital media, although he did not name them or outline their resumes. The group plans to retain all employees of The Onion and maintain operations in Chicago.
“The Onion for more than 35 years has been an integral part of our country's cultural fabric with its unique brand of satire and comedy that continues to be more important and relevant today than any other,” Spanfeller wrote. at any time in its long history.
G/O Media has sold asset after asset in recent months as the newspaper reevaluates its media portfolio. Last month, it sold culture site The AV Club and food blog The Takeout to Paste Media and Static Media, and moved Jezebel to Paste Media last year after a brief shutdown. While most of the stores bankrupted by G/O Media survived, others, such as Deadspinsaw their entire staff laid off.
The company has also seen the departure of editors, most recently the departure of Kotaku editor Jen Glennon. “Some personal news! I resigned from Kotaku and Jim Spanfeller is just a weed,” Glennon Written in an X post last month, referring to the employee's widely used, derisive nickname presented to the G/O CEO.
