LA Magazine Editor-in-Chief Maer Roshan Out as New Owners Change Course (Exclusive)
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Los Angeles Magazine editor-in-chief Maer Roshan is leaving after four years running the publication, Roshan told TheWrap exclusively. He was given the news in an abrupt conversation with the new owners and escorted out of the building on Tuesday, according to two individuals with knowledge.
Los Angeles Magazine was bought in December by Los Angeles attorneys Mark Geragos and Ben Meiselas after many years of declining revenue and circulation. Since taking over the magazine, they reestablished an office from a fully remote operation, and have been based in downtown LA.
Roshan, a former deputy editor at New York magazine, had most recently served as the editor of FourTwoNine men’s magazine when he was hired by LA Mag in January 2019.
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Roshan was previously known as a star editor of New York-based publications. He was deputy editor of New York for nearly seven years, and was later hired hired by Tina Brown as editorial director of Talk where he oversaw double-digit circulation gains in his first year, according to the press release at the time of his hire.
Roshan confirmed his exit but declined to elaborate on the reason or terms of his departure. Like many print publications, Los Angeles magazine has been struggling for both readers and advertisers in recent years, but it saw an even steeper decline during the COVID pandemic.
The new owners seem poised to turn Los Angeles into a celebrity-oriented publication and have kept their distance from the existing staff, dismissing Roshan in a brief in-person meeting on Tuesday, according to a knowledgeable individual. They recently hired Christopher Gialanella to be president and publisher. He is the former group publisher for several of Modern Luxury’s city-based brands.
In so doing, the new owners have not endeared themselves to the staff. Star writer Peter Kiefer has recently departed to the start-up The Ankler, and reporter and news editor Ian Spiegelman was let go — two insiders confirmed to TheWrap — after he erroneously sent an email to the new owners referring to them as “slimy shady figures” and that LA Magazine should do an expose on them.
Spiegelman refuted that the email in question wasn’t sent directly to the owners, but could have been forwarded to them by any one of the original recipients, and contended that he was actually fired for raising concerns over unpaid invoices to writers. Maer didn’t immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Roshan was recruited to Los Angeles when the publication was at a crossroads as print revenue continued to decline. He reimagined the publication with harder-hitting news cover stories in place of “The 10 Best Hikes in LA” or “10 Best Burgers In LA” that had dominated.
Among some of his biggest story exclusives were a profile on Yashar Ali, an expose on a private school in Brentwood, an interview with Charlotte Kirk the woman at the center of the scandal that brought down Warner Bros. chief Kevin Tjusihara and an investigative report by Michelle McPhee on the Armenian Mafia.
Geragos and Meiselas formed a new company, Engine Vision Media, to run Los Angeles, Orange and Pasadena magazines. They could not be reached for comment.
Detroit-based Hour Media LLC bought Los Angeles Magazine in 2017.
The sale in December was the fifth time the magazine has changed hands. Geragos was the attorney for several high-profile clients over the years, including Michael Jackson, Chris Brown and Jussie Smollett. Meiselas is also a social-media entrepreneur.
Sharon Waxman contributed to this article.
