Larry Burstein.
Photo: New York Magazine
Following a remarkable 13-year run, New York Media publisher Larry Burstein announced today that he has decided to step down and will be leaving the company after a new chief revenue officer is in place. CEO Pam Wasserstein said in a statement:
“Larry is a visionary leader with an incredible record of transformation at this company, and it’s been my great pleasure to work with him closely since joining. He fearlessly led the charge to grow our digital business into the multi-brand juggernaut it is today, admired across the industry. At the same time, he saw a way forward for the print magazine through monumental shifts in media consumption and ad buying. He cultivated an integrated sales team working across media years before other magazine companies were taking the web seriously. A trusted partner to editor Adam Moss and revered mentor to a new generation of sales and marketing professionals, Larry can move on knowing we’re on the strongest possible footing. I’m grateful for his enormous contributions and wish him the very best.”
Editor-in-chief Adam Moss said:
“Larry Burstein has been a magnificent publisher of New York, and a great friend and partner. What he did here was remarkable and pretty much unduplicated in the industry, moving us seamlessly from a single, weekly magazine to the diverse multimedia company we are today. He was early and shrewd — a pioneering and innovative publisher, continuously finding new ways to meet advertisers’ shifting needs, keeping us buoyant through sometimes-turbulent seas. Not surprisingly what I’ve appreciated the most is that he is the rare publisher who actually loves journalism. That’s meant a lot to me — and I think it’s why he was so successful guiding this business. I wish him the best going forward, but I can’t pretend I’m not going to miss him.”
The text of Burstein’s memo to staff, sent earlier today:
Dear Colleagues,
In the nearly 14 years I’ve been at this company, I’ve participated in its reinvention from the publisher of a single print title with a relatively small circulation into a print and digital powerhouse with an audience of about 30 million monthly visitors across seven distinct websites. We’ve taken it beyond our legacy magazine media competitors, and are often the model many media start-ups hope to emulate.
I’ve found myself thinking about reinvention a lot lately, and with the company in a strong position have decided the time is right to do it once more myself. Toward that end, Pam will begin a search for a chief revenue officer to take my place. I will stay with the company until that person is in place and a smooth transition is ensured. After that I expect to take some time off, give some attention to my board positions, especially at the Moth, then get back in it and explore a media world filled with opportunity and challenge.
I will be fully dedicated as usual and have a packed schedule with upcoming sales trips for the Cut, Vulture, meetings with advertisers here in New York, and solving problems in an operation as fast moving as ours.
It’s been an honor to work here with all of you, and especially to work with Adam for all these years. And it’s exciting to see the change in culture and the new initiatives that Pam is leading in events, e-commerce, and premium membership to diversify the company’s portfolio.
As one of the many people to leave New York only to return, I know what a special place this is.
Larry