Forbes abruptly cut ties with dozens of contributing writers this week — sparking outrage and confusion among the rank and file as bosses said they were moving to ensure the business news site is “financially sound,” The Post has learned.
Numerous contributing writers at the 108-year-old financial news outlet — independent contractors who are experts in fields from finance and media to lifestyle, sports and food – were informed late Monday that their contracts were terminated, effective immediately, according to emails obtained by The Post.
“The media industry is changing drastically, forcing publishers, including Forbes, to pursue new strategies to provide the journalism our readers depend on,” Jeffrey Marcus, the site’s assistant managing editor, wrote in one of the emails.
He said Forbes wants to ensure that the “contributor model is financially sound and meets our readers’ evolving needs,” adding that to maintain its audience the company must “focus on regular contributions” that “consistently engage a large and loyal audience.”
A spokeswoman for Forbes declined to say how many people were let go, but dozens of writers’ bylines have been changed to “former contributor” on Forbes’ website.
The spokeswoman said the company “regularly reviews its contributor network to ensure the content on our platform aligns with our editorial strategy and meets our audiences’ evolving needs.”
She added that the “contributor network is vital to Forbes’ future, and this year, we welcomed more than 200 new contributors to the platform.”
The abrupt terminations left writers in shock.
“I was completely taken by surprise — there was no indication they were going to let me go,” said Court Stroud, an ousted contributor who is an assistant professor at New York University teaching integrated marketing and communications.
“It felt like being kicked out of the door,” Stroud told The Post, noting that he wrote for Forbes for nearly eight years.
Another source griped that the pay hadn’t been great – just $50 per article for up to 10 articles a month, not including bonuses linked to certain traffic goals, the person said. Still, another speculated that the steady flow of stories was too costly for Forbes, which has increasingly been run “lean” by “junior” managers.
Contributors are expected to write at least two articles a month that “make an impact” on a regular basis, Marcus and Forbes executive editor Caroline Howard told staffers in a Monday email.
A third angry source speculated that Forbes could be “turning to AI-related content” to cut costs and juice website traffic.
“It’s a s–tty thing to do,” said another former contributor, who wrote for Forbes for about 15 years. ”This is not how you treat people.”
A source close to the company said — unlike news sites such as Business Insider — Forbes has “no plans to use AI” for content creation.
Yet another fired contributor told The Post that several contributors were mysteriously deactivated from an internal Slack channel a week before Thanksgiving.
When they asked about it on Sunday, assistant editor DeArbes Walker said contributors simply will “no longer use Slack to communicate,” and that they should check in via email, according to correspondence reviewed by The Post.
“A day later, we got the email from Jeffrey Marcus and Carolyn Howard saying we were fired,” the person said.
Forbes has seen a bumpy ride under Hong Kong-based owner Integrated Whale Media, which acquired a majority stake in Forbes Media in 2014 in a deal valued at $475 million.
In 2022, cryptocurrency exchange Binance said it would acquire a $200 million stake in Forbes after IWM tried to take the company public via a merger with special-purpose acquisition company. The plan was scrapped later after Forbes terminated the IPO due to unfavorable market conditions.
In 2023, IWM agreed to sell an 82% stake in Forbes to Austin Russell, the CEO of Luminar Technologies, in a deal valued at $800 million. That deal fell through after Russell was unable to secure financing.
Last December, Forbes stopped using freelancers to produce content for its product review section, blaming the change on a recent update to Google Search policies, according to The Verge.
Founded as a magazine in 1917, Forbes has long championed capitalism and entrepreneurship and is best known for its annual list of the world’s wealthiest people.
It now relies more on key franchises like its “30 Under 30” list, conferences and a slew of brand extensions in real estate and education, as well as advertiser-paid content.
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