Matt McAllester had been taking a leave of absence.
Newsweek Media Group has formally severed ties with global editor in chief Matt McAllester, who the company had recently announced was on a leave of absence. Bob Roe, who has filled in as editor of the magazine's U.S. and international operations, has been elevated to take McAllester's position permanently.
On Aug. 9, a spokesperson for Newsweek told The Hollywood Reporter that McAllester was on a planned leave of absence from the company, but that it was unrelated to a recent employee discrimination lawsuit that featured him prominently, stemming from his time at Time Inc. McAllester was not formally named in the suit against Time Inc. but was heavily criticized by former colleague Catherine Mayer.
While the leave of absence was presented as temporary, company sources insisted that McAllester would not return to his position, and a memo from Newsweek Media Group CEO Dev Pragad on Friday made that official.
"Former Global Editor-in-Chief Matt McAllester is no longer with Newsweek," Pragad wrote in a memo obtained by THR. "We thank Matt for his outstanding service at Newsweek as Europe Editor, International Editor and ultimately as Global Editor-in-Chief. We wish Matt all the best in his career and Bob every success in his new assignment."
Roe, who has been with Newsweek for four years, "has given us all a glimpse of how he will steer Newsweek to success on the newsfeed and the newsstand," Pragad wrote.