There were two interconnected stories concerning Condé Nast publishing this week, and many of the problems with our contemporary media are at the center of it all. It was another case of an outlet facing constriction, and it led to another example of the new class of journalists infecting the industry with activist, near anti-social mindsets in the workplace.
To start, if you missed the melodrama, the announcement was made earlier this week that the hyper-leftist source Teen Vogue was being diluted, with much of its editorial team being let go, and any lingering staff and content would be folded into the parent publication. Over the years, that portal has been the source of some aggressively left-wing content aimed at the formative class of the country, pushing everything from sex worker acceptance, abortion activism, and even heavily promoting communist positions.
Following the announcement, news emerged on Thursday of an uproar taking place inside the Condé Nast offices, involving members from other publications under the publishing banner, expressing their displeasure with the shuttering of this outlet. This confrontation was said to involve the director of Human Resources, Stan Duncan, and after he refused to engage the employees, they persisted. This led to the dismissal of a handful of staff, including those from WIRED Magazine, The New Yorker, and Bon Appétit.
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) November 6, 2025
This item tracks with others from a variety of media outlets over the years, where the new class of staffers arrive with a sense of unearned power and entitlement, behaving as if they wield some level of influence well above their pay grade. It has been rather pronounced at the New York Times, where, you should recall, there was a staff revolt over Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton writing an editorial. The Washington Post saw some uprisings when the editorial managers and executives made decisions such as choosing not to endorse a presidential candidate last year.
READ MORE: Tom Cotton Kneecaps Hypocritical 'Woke Progressives' at the NY Times Who Were Triggered by His Op-Ed
Seen this summer at the New York Times was another internal scuffle when a journalist dared to report accurately about Zohran Mamdani. Reporter Ben Ryan posted a piece about Mamdani declaring he was a black male on a college application. This led POC columnist Jamelle Bouie to lash out personally at Ryan, and the paper was compelled to issue an explanation about the whole affair.
All of this, because Ryan was accurate. Not only did he provide the evidence of this appropriation, but Mamdani had even confirmed that he had actually filled out his application in that manner.
So this news coming out of another publisher’s offices is hardly surprising, and now it gets more illustrative. For reasons possibly related to making a case for their defense, a video of this confrontation in the Condé Nast offices has emerged, and it displays all of the dysfunction we have heard about over the years. We see these staffers behaving like insufferable, entitled scolds who disregard the directives from their boss, behaving like they are owed some sort of audience. It is bewildering.
The most brutally awkward thing you'll see today: Condé Nast staffers confront head of HR Stan Duncan over layoffs outside his 34th-floor office.
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) November 6, 2025
Four of the employees featured in this exclusive video from the confrontation were then fired for "extreme misconduct."
The whole… pic.twitter.com/Ze6Vmyz0iI
What is most surprising is that Duncan did not coddle these cranks, something that has been seen far too often in these media maelstroms. He directed them properly to get back to work, and after a time, he took the appropriate steps and let go of these demanding brats.
Now we also get a window into the possible motivations behind this “revolt.” Apparently, one of those involved in the melodrama was romantically involved with one of the dismissed Teen Vogue employees; both figures place themself in the categories of the revered activist subcultures seen today.
We will send out letters of gratitude to both @DailyMail and @CondeNast Publishing for this donation.
— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) November 7, 2025
It will be curated in our Woke Wing.#Newseum pic.twitter.com/0SbsEL04N4
What we see on display has to be considered encouraging. For once, we have executives who appear tired of the disruptive and unproductive behavior of the coddled and clueless activist workforce. What these activist-minded and power-mad underlings fail to grasp is that they were plying their trade in an industry facing market pressures and, if they are not contributing effectively to the fortunes of the company, they are now regarded as a drain.
Media outlets can no longer tolerate those who are negatively impacting operations. The days of woke daycare centers in the office are coming to an end, and these braying ratchet-jaws are finding out that they are not indispensable – in this climate, they are disposable.
We are just left with the mystifying concept that people out there really had the mindset that going to bat for a disturbing outlet like Teen Vogue was a hill worth seeing your career die upon.
THURSDAY: "That's right, I stood up for @TeenVogue!!!"
— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) November 6, 2025
SATURDAY MORNING: ("Oh holy hell, why did I go to bat for that pro-communist sex worker advocacy psych-bin of a publication...?!?!?!")
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals.
They own this. Help us continue to report the truth about the Schumer Shutdown. Use promo code POTUS47 to get 74% off your VIP membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member