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My Thoughts On What’s Happening at Medium
Broad changes to editorial, and a move towards independent voices
These last few days at Medium have felt…emotional.
On Wednesday evening, the company’s founder Ev Williams published a post announcing sweeping changes to Medium’s editorial strategy. I read it while riding in the backseat of my minivan.
There’s a lot to unpack in that post, and a lot of subtext. But the gist — or at least the part that stands out to me — is a broad shift away from Medium’s professional editorial focus, and a shift towards more emphasis on independent writers and individual voices.
It also means major staffing changes, including the departure of Medium’s Head of Content Siobhan O’Connor, and a “voluntary separation program” (buyout) for much of Medium’s editorial and professional writing staff. And finally, it means major changes to Medium’s publications, which Ev says “worked less well” than he had hoped.
Ev William’s post appeared to blindside basically everyone; Medium’s own staff…
