San Diego Magazine Shuts Down, Lays Off Entire Staff Amid California Coronavirus Lockdown
After 72 years, San Diego Magazine has closed its doors and laid off all employees due to the statewide coronavirus shutdown.
But the magazine’s publisher, Jim Fitzpatrick, told Voice of San Diego the measure, driven by ad losses, is hopefully temporary and that publication can resume if the shutdowns end quickly enough.
“San Diego Magazine is a 72-year-old brand and I will not let it die. This is hopefully a short pause,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement provided to Voice of San Diego.
“We cover what’s happening in San Diego, places to go, thinks to do, people to see,” Fitzpatrick’s statement continued. “There’s not much happening, and what there is, changes day to day, hour to hour. Our wonderful supporters and clients have closed their businesses.”
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According to the Times of San Diego, Fitzpatrick notified the magazine’s staff via email earlier in the day.
San Diego Magazine was established in 1948. Fitzpatrick purchased the magazine in 1994, sold it in 2005, then bought it back in 2010.
The closure comes amid a wave of cost-cutting measures across media and Hollywood as companies seek to stay in business despite the sudden shock caused by the shutdowns. Earlier Monday, United Talent Agency enacted salary cuts across the board, a move it called “immediate and painful.”
The company said in a statement that the cuts will be “structured so our most senior colleagues make the largest financial sacrifice.”
Attempts to contact San Diego Magazine representatives were not immediately successful.
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