Third-party owner lays off large percentage of magazine staff

Outside magazine’s parent company has laid off 20 members of the magazine’s editorial and business staff, leaving questions about the current viability of the print and online publication. The news came in a company-wide email last Thursday from CEO Robin Thurston, announcing the purchase of Inntopia, travel booking software used by Vail, Alterra Mountain Company and others. Employees affected by the mass layoff said one print editor and three online editors remain. Among those who lost their jobs were senior editor Chris Keyes, thirty-year veteran and chief sustainability officer Kristin Hostetter, and brand director Mary Turner.

Robin Thurston did not respond directly to a request for comment, but a member of Outside’s outside PR firm emailed this statement:

“With the acquisition of Inntopia, we decided to restructure part of our editorial team to allow our vertical outdoor experts to own their categories across the platform. Focusing on categories such as Snow, Cycling, Hiking + Camping, Wellness, MTB, Tri/Run, Climbing and Food + Fitness allows our content creators to contribute their expertise across our portfolio and grow areas audience engagement reviews like video, mapping and our activity. feeding platform. Our editorial team across all Outside Inc. brands remains one of our largest groups of full-time employees, plus freelancers and contributors who support our beloved content and storytelling. Last week’s layoffs affected 20 people across the editorial, product, marketing, sales and finance teams, eight of whom were local to Colorado.”

Thurston made comments to A Media Operador, which covers online publications. He said, “A lot of people come to our properties and want to know where to go, right? They want to know what to do. If we write a story about the five best ski resorts in North America, we don’t walk them through booking the trip afterwards. We just say, ‘Hey, here’s some great information from a travel writer, good luck, find out how to book that. Go find the ski instructor. Find out how to buy tickets.'”

Thurston also told AMO that he plans to take the company public in three or four years.

Backed by venture capital, Thurston’s Pocket Media bought three divisions of Active Interest Media in 2020 (including Backpacker, SKI, Climbing and other titles) and then bought Outside from former owner Larry Burke in 2021. It also bought Pinkbike, the Gaia mapping service and numerous outdoor recreation publications. It has since funneled editorial content into subscription-based Outside+ and has gone through two previous rounds of major layoffs.

This recent round of layoffs has left employees reeling. The people we spoke to were granted anonymity to speak candidly. Many are negotiating their compensation; the one offered by the company was “weak,” one said.

The positions that were eliminated include vice president and general manager of Outdoors, vice president of data and analytics, senior brand director, editor in chief, managing editor, three senior editors, two associate editors, assistant editor, senior photo editor and group creative director. Other business-side layoffs include director of sales operations, director of SEO, associate director, technical advertising operations, social media analyst and senior digital production manager.

UPDATE, 02.12.25

A spokesperson responded:

Update from outside, 2.12.25

“Is it correct to say that Outside is not currently offered in print?”
- No. The impression is not going to go away. Otherwise. Our circulation for the current November/December issue of Outside is 675,000. We are currently printing the Spring 2025 issue, which will be on sale March 1. The summer issue, out at the end of May, will feature the redesigned and reimagined Outside that will broaden the magazine’s focus.

“Employees affected by the mass layoff said one print editor and three online editors remain.”
- Incorrect.
- “Our editorial team is made up of more than 60 full-time content creators and contributors, including editors, writers, videographers and photographers who will continue to produce content for our digital and print content.
- The current editorial director of our lifestyle brands, Mary-Frances Heck, will become general manager of external media and business growth, overseeing all of our digital editorial properties. “Mary-Frances’ experience in lifestyle media such as Dotdash Meredith uniquely positions her to lead Outside’s print and digital content teams in the future.”