Consumer Reports CEO explains why Consumerist is being shuttered

Marta Tellado, the president and CEO of Consumer Reports, sent out the following to the staff about it shutting the Consumerist website:

Dear Colleagues,

At the heart of our transformation is a commitment to take a hard look at ourselves, examine everything we do, and work to ensure we are in a position to do all we can to serve consumers. It is with this responsibility that I share with you that we are transitioning Consumerist from a standalone site and integrating its voice into CRO.

For the last year, we’ve been seeking out ways to bring the best of CRO and and Consumerist together by featuring Consumerist stories on CRO, by infusing some of Consumerist’s best practices — including timely reporting, an occasionally more casual voice, and others — into our broader reporting and writing, and by coordinating the two platforms around key news moments.

Now, it’s time to take the next step, transitioning Consumerist from a standalone site and thoughtfully bringing key elements of Consumerist content into CRO, including parts of the Consumerist archive. This change, effective immediately, will ensure we are able to better maximize our investments and resources as we work to effect change in the marketplace. Is also means most of the Consumerist staff will depart from CR.

In the nine years since it first joined the CR family — and, indeed, since its inception — Consumerist has been a unique and fearless watchdog, shining a light on shady corporate practices and galvanizing action around important consumer issues with velocity, sincerity, and passion. We remain immensely proud of this work.

While transitioning a beloved brand can be bittersweet, both for the staff who work on it and for the community that supports it, I believe this change will preserve the best of the Consumerist spirit. I want to offer my sincere thanks to the team that has worked so hard to make Consumerist a unique and special voice for so many readers. I will share more about what’s ahead for the Consumerist brand as we develop our next steps, and I look forward to discussing this and so much else about our future when we gather for our Town Hall meeting on Thursday.

With gratitude,

Marta