Street Media, the parent company of titles including The Village Voice and LA Weekly, has revealed the return of Justin Moran as editor in chief of Paper Magazine, which was acquired by the company in June.
“I am excited to work under queer ownership, as we continue Paper’s core mission of championing fresh, new voices and amplifying them to a mass audience online,” Moran said in a statement. “Creating space for stories largely overlooked by mainstream media is more important than ever, and we will make that our priority yet again as we rebuild this platform.”
Moran first joined Paper in 2017 as a digital managing editor leading papermag.com. He was promoted to digital director, where he oversaw all editorial operations across digital and social. He was originally promoted to editor in chief in July 2022, before Paper temporarily stopped publishing in May 2023 amid company-wide layoffs.
Paper plans to resume digital publishing this fall ahead of the magazine’s 40th anniversary in 2024. Moran is now onboarding a revamped editorial team under Street Media, with managing editor Matt Wille, who is also returning to his previous position at the magazine.
“We are thrilled that Justin is returning to Paper to steward its direction and build on the profound legacy expected from Paper’s groundbreaking and provocative creative lens of the world,” said Brian Calle, chief executive officer of Street Media, in a statement. “Both Justin and Matt have incredible reputations and it will be exciting to work with them and watch as they build Paper.”
Paper was founded in New York City in 1984 as an underground art, culture and style magazine. The magazine made headlines in 2014 for its famous Kim Kardashian cover shot by Jean-Paul Goude, which generated 70 million monthly unique visitors on papermag.com.
In April, AdWeek reported that Paper was laying off its editorial staff, citing economic headwinds. The magazine’s then-publisher Tom Florio blamed declining ad revenue as the reason for the layoffs. In June, it was reported that Calle bought Paper and was working to bring back ex-staffers to lead the publication into a new era.
Paper will host a dinner during New York Fashion Week ahead of its official mid-fall relaunch to celebrate Moran’s return as editor in chief. The dinner will be held at the highly anticipated new West Village restaurant Ambra by chef John DeLucie.